ACA president reveals widespread PED use, admits testing challenges

ACA president Magomed Bibulatov gave a candid interview about performance-enhancing drug use in his promotion. He stated that more fighters use PEDs than compete clean, and that fighters accepting bouts on short notice are usually clean because they have not had time to use anything. Bibulatov explained that ACA attempted to implement drug testing, giving fighters six months to clear their systems and allowing certain permitted substances. However, he acknowledged that testing is expensive and that solving the problem would require collaboration among all Russian promotions, which he considers unlikely. He mentioned that while the promotion has data on which fighters violate anti-doping rules, they are still deciding how to handle violations, with one-year suspensions being considered. The honest admission highlights ongoing challenges with PED enforcement in Russian MMA.