Roy Nelson talks about the new UFC PED testing policy, which in his opinion, makes no sense. He will be facing Alistair Overeem at UFC 185.

Nelson told MMAFighting.com:

“It’s kind of one of those things that, I’ve been there, done that. I’ve been doing the random drug tests and out-of-competition kind of drug tests for over three years, so it’s not anything new. Like, I did VADA, which is Voluntary Anti-Doping. I did that two or three years ago, so it’s like, it’s not new. It’s not new technology. The program has been around, available, for the longest time. So, all of a sudden moving that way? It is what it is.”

“It’s just one of those things that, I’m happy, but is it really going to make a difference?” Because with some of the policies, it’s not really set in stone. Like, you can do cocaine one day and that’s cool because it’s not in-competition… but you’re getting ready for a fight, so it is (in-competition)? It’s just one of those things. You get popped for a steroid beforehand, before the fight actually starts, but we’re still going to let the fight go on? So it really doesn’t really matter — if you catch me, we’re still going to have a fight? So what’s even the sense of having a policy? A policy is just like, ‘hey, I can still fight and just be suspended for a year?’ If I only fight once a year anyways, who cares?”

“If it’d be like, first offense, you’re banned for life, or you’re banned for five years, [then] you’re taking somebody’s money a lot. A year is like, ‘oh, I fight once a year anyways.’ But if you’re fighting once every five years, then you might think about it. It’s one of those things that it’s definitely, you could put some sting onto it.”

On Overeem:

“I mean, he got busted before. I believe that was his doctor’s fault, which, whatever. But it’s just one of those things. I can’t tell you what’s right and what’s wrong. I just know that if Texas didn’t test him, or UFC didn’t test him, he could still be on them. I don’t know.

“People who fight in Japan, it’s pretty rampant over there. I remember just going when they did the drug tests, there was more, ‘hey, as long as you’re not on any amphetamines, we’re okay.'”

“I think it’s more rampant that (people think),” Nelson said. “More money, more problems. The more money that’s out there, it’s easier to do drugs, it’s easier to bypass the situation, and I think it’s easier to test yourself and get off, cycle off. It’s a lot easier.

“Science has improved, and hey, I can take a little of this, and hey, I feel like a 20-year-old again. So it’s just one of those things that definitely is rampant. Everything can be better with better rules — not necessarily better testing. I think if they just had a straight up rule, like you get banned for life on the first offense, I don’t think you would ever try it.”