Is there another sport outside mixed martial arts that can offer you such wonderful headlines?
This morning, UFC featherweight Dan Ige opened his door at 6:30 to see a person ready to collect his blood. Understandably, Ige assumed USADA had come to test him for banned substances, and allowed the process to go ahead… only to find out the woman actually didn’t represent USADA and instead had come to the wrong address.
“So pissed off someone came over this morning I thought it was @usantidoping @USADA_UFC they took my blood and everything and come to find out these people went to the wrong house address and did not work for usada WTF!!!!!” Ige posted on his twitter today. “I’m so mad, and sure of this is my fault… When someone rings your doorbell six times at 6:30 AM saying they’re here to take your blood I was just cooperating thinking it’s USADA now I probably have aids.”
So pissed off someone came over this morning I thought it was @usantidoping @USADA_UFC they took my blood and everything and come to find out these people went to the wrong house address and did not work for usada WTF!!!!! 🤬🤬🤬
— Dan Ige (@Dynamitedan808) April 18, 2019
I’m so mad, and sure of this is my fault… When someone rings your doorbell six times at 6:30 AM saying they’re here to take your blood I was just cooperating thinking it’s USADA now I probably have aids
— Dan Ige (@Dynamitedan808) April 18, 2019
According to Ige, who spoke with MMAFighting after the incident, revealing the mistake only came to light when the woman collector asked his name and found it didn’t match.
“She just took all my blood and at this point I’m like, ‘OK, get the f*ck out of my house,’” Ige said. “She took [my blood]. I didn’t even think like, hey at least give me my vials of blood. She took my blood. She had like a creepy little smile. She was joking. But she was so nice, to be honest. I didn’t want to curse her out or anything. I was like, ‘alright, you can leave now.’ It’s just so weird, what are the odds that they came to my house where I’m used to getting early wakeup calls with blood or urine tests?”
It’s not the first issue to arise from drug testers showing up to fighter’s homes. Chael Sonnen once argued with a New York Commissioner for ID prior to a drugs test, and Tim Kennedy answered his door with a gun after not knowing who a USADA representative was.
According to Ige, there could and should be an alternative.
“It’s just kind of crazy,” Ige said. “I hope this doesn’t happen to anyone else. I don’t know if they need to change something. When USADA shows up, they don’t have like USADA uniforms. Sometimes they have their badges or whatever, but typically not.”
