UFC issued the following release, announcing a new Athlete Marketing and Development program, including the first “all-encompassing, independently administered, anti-doping policy” in professional sports.

UFC Launches Athlete Marketing and Development Program

Las Vegas – UFC® announced today the unveiling of its new, ground-breaking Athlete Marketing and Development program, introduced to provide athletes with programs and tools to help them maximize their careers and succeed long-term, both inside and outside the Octagon®. In coordination with key organizations such as the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), Fusionetics, and EXOS, UFC continues to be at the forefront of athlete development, making a significant investment into the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) and, most importantly, the athletes who step into the Octagon.

“Earlier this year, we vowed to take a leadership position on key areas impacting our sport, fighter health and fighter safety,” UFC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lorenzo Fertitta said. “After months of hard work, and the addition of Jeff Novitzky, we have taken the opportunity to not only launch an elite anti-doping policy, but to invest, develop and deploy a year-round Athlete Marketing and Development program focused on the preparation, performance and education of our athletes.”

As UFC continues to evolve as one of the world’s leading sports organizations, it has engaged USADA to run the first all-encompassing, independently administered, anti-doping policy for a professional sports organization. The policy is a central part of UFC’s expanded efforts to protect the health and safety of its athletes, and to protect their right to compete with natural ability on an even playing field.

USADA, universally recognized as a premier anti-doping agency, will act as the independent administrator of the anti-doping policy, beginning July 1, 2015. As the policy ramps up, UFC and USADA will provide athletes with multiple levels of education including: written copies of the policy and accompanying materials, in-person presentations, hands-on demonstration of online and mobile applications, and on-line education courses. Jeff Novitzky, UFC Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance, will spearhead the roll out of the anti-doping policy.

UFC and USADA will release the finalized policy to the athletes, the media and the public by mid-June.

Fusionetics, developed under the leadership of Dr. Micheal A. Clark and a group of scientists, sports medicine professionals, coaches, athletes and business leaders, is a system that was designed and is utilized in the world of professional sports to help athletes improve their performance, speed up their recovery and avoid future injury. The newly announced partnership will allow UFC athletes to access Fusionetics facilities and interact with their staff, providing individualized digital plans that can be utilized on the athletes’ tablets and phones.

EXOS, the leaders in training, nutrition and physical therapy for elite athletes, have worked with some of the best professional athletes in sport and will now begin working closely with UFC athletes. The goal is to help UFC athletes maximize performance and minimize injury risk. During the last week of May, middleweight Luke Rockhold, former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans and newly signed middleweight CM Punk became the first UFC athletes to take part in a full week of training at the EXOS facilities in Phoenix learning innovative ways to train, plan and prepare for competition. Phase two of the program will include sending additional athletes to the EXOS facilities, as well as deploying a mobile EXOS team to some of the top gyms in the sport.

Lastly, on June 1 and 2, UFC gathered nearly fifty up-an-coming athletes for its Athlete Summit to unveil the new anti-doping policy and deploy its new Athlete Marketing and Development program. The two-day summit offered classes featuring experts in financial planning, nutrition, and health and wellness, press and social media training, and allowed for personal interaction with all three organizations: USADA, Fusionetics and EXOS.

This new program, and future initiatives to be developed under its umbrella, reflects UFC’s absolute on-going commitment to the health and well-being of its contracted athletes.

For additional information please visit UFC.com, and follow UFC on Twitter @ufc.

he Ultimate Fighting Championship announced earlier this year plans to overhaul their drug testing system. Previously regulatory commissions would handle testing in regulated areas, while UFC would do the honors in unregulated territories. At a press conference today, the company unveiled major changes to the program.

The UFC's roster will be subjected to year-round drug testing, both in and out of competition. The tests will be based on blood and urine, and can be conducted at any time without notice.

The company also unveiled disciplinary policies for the subsequent violations:

Non-specified substances
As defined by WADA: Growth hormones, aabolic steroids, peptides, blood doping drugs and methods (in- and out-of competition):

1st offense: 2 years (with possibility of 4 years for "aggravating circumstances")
2nd offense: Double the sanction for the 1st offense
3rd offense: Double the sanction for the 2nd offense

Specified substances:

As defined by WADA: marijuana, cocaine, other stimulants and glucocorticosteroids (in-competition testing only):

1st offense: 1 years (with possibility of 2 additional years for "aggravating circumstances")
2nd offense: Double the sanction for the 1st offense
3rd offense: Double the sanction for the 2nd offense

It's worth noting that the "in-competition" begins six hours prior to weigh-ins, and ends six hours after the fight. The specified substances are lesser in severity, and aren't tested for during the camp.

These changes come off of the heels of several drug test failures from major stars in 2015 including Jon Jones, Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz. The company has enlisted the help of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to conduct the tests, and will likely begin on July 1.