ACA president admits more fighters use PEDs than compete clean

Magomed Bibulatov, president of ACA (Absolute Championship Akhmat), provided candid admissions about performance-enhancing drug use in the Russian promotion during an interview. He stated that more fighters use banned substances than compete cleanly, and noted that fighters taking bouts on short notice are typically clean because "they didn't have time to apply anything." Bibulatov explained that ACA began testing fighters and gave them six months to clear their systems, while allowing some substances that help fighters. He revealed the promotion has data on which fighters use more or fewer prohibited drugs, and that the cleanest fighters in ACA's testing were those who took replacement bouts. Bibulatov expressed uncertainty about how to handle violators, considering one-year suspensions, and noted that comprehensive drug testing is expensive. He suggested Russian promotions should collaborate on anti-doping efforts but doubted this would happen, acknowledging that ACA alone cannot solve the problem without industry-wide cooperation.