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| © Matt Roberts, USA TODAY Sports |
The Texas-based company, one of Holm’s sponsors, sells supplements advertised as containing substances that are banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). UFC's independent administrator of its doping protocol is the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which adheres to WADA rules and regulations.
“Congratulations,’’ read a message on the homepage of Intel-Pharma’s website. “We always believed!’’ On the company’s Facebook page, supplement seller JAK Nutrition saluted: “Congrats to Holly Holm and Team Intel-Pharma!!’ Check out our full line of Intel-Pharma products!!”
At JAKnutrition.com, four Intel-Pharma products for sale are labeled as Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMS), considered steroid alternatives and on WADA’s banned substance list.
Don Catlin, a renowned anti-doping expert, said Holm’s business relationship with Intel Pharma is “a pretty bad idea.’’ Victor Conte, founder of the Bay Area Lab Co-Operative (BALCO) that provided legal and illegal supplements to athletes, said that in the wake of Holm's stunning, second-round knockout over Rousey on Saturday in Australia, her business relationship with Intel-Pharma is a concern.
“This looks highly suspicious,’’ Conte told USA TODAY Sports. “This is crazy stuff.”
Lenny Fresquez, Holm’s manager, told USA TODAY Sports Monday night that he and the fighter were aware before signing the sponsorship deal that Intel Pharma sold products containing banned substances.
“The first question I asked them was how many of these products were banned, and they were up front about it,’’ Fresquez said. “Holly didn’t really use them so it’s not a big deal …
“I’m sure she didn’t use any of them. She might have taken a picture with one."
Holm is still in Australia and unavailable for comment, according to Fresquez. He said the sponsorship arrangement with Intel Pharma was a one-fight deal and that he and Holm have not decided whether to extend the arrangement.
“My job is to get whatever the best thing is for Holly,’’ he said. “Now that you’ve raised this concern we’ll definitely take that into consideration more carefully in going forward."
UFC issued a statement saying its athletes, as independent contractors, can accept endorsements and sponsorships from supplement companies that “do not conflict with their contractual obligations at official UFC events."
Landon Suggs, CEO of Intel Pharma, said his company stopped producing and selling the SARMs products no later than June — before the company started sponsoring Holm — and has issued a recall for such products.
The company disassociated from SARMs as part of a "self-regulation" effort in the industry, according to Suggs. But he said Intel Pharma continues to sell supplements containing stimulants that “could be on the banned lists."
Suggs said he was unaware of the JAK Nutrition post that was reposted on Intel-Pharma’s website.
“There’s no way I see everything that goes on that stuff, to be fully honest with you,’’ he said.
Jack Maggard, owner of JAK Nutrition, declined to comment.
Product description on JAK Nutrition’s website reads, “Intel Pharma is the Bentley of Hardcore Supplements. Would you put a Kia in your driveway instead?... We didn't think so.’’
"The product description also includes the following disclaimer: This product is not for human consumption. Use this product at your own risk, for research, only after thorough chemical evaluation. This product is not a dietary supplement."
“There should be concern when products are being sold with a disclaimer stating that they are not for human consumption and to use them at your own risk,’’ Conte said.
Between 2012 and 2014, Rousey was sponsored by Gaspari Nutrition, in whose products Catlin said he found steroids.
Catlin said he made the discovery in 2005 when he tested the product for a story by the Washington Post about the supplement industry.
Rousey did not respond to requests for comment through the UFC or by email.
Referring to the endorsement deals involving Holm and Rousey, UFC's statement read, “UFC has provided both athletes with extensive education on the UFC anti-doping program, and extensive education on the dietary supplement industry. They are both aware that they are liable for any substances put into their body, whether knowingly or unknowingly, and still must adhere to the requirements set forth by the UFC Anti-Doping Policy."
Rousey has been the most tested UFC athlete to date under its new drug testing program, having provided nine separate samples for testing, according to UFC. Holm has provided five separate samples for testing since the inception of the program on July 1, according to UFC.
Of the samples that have returned results, all of those for both athletes were clean, according to UFC.
The supplement industry once was under attack by Jeff Novitzky, the one-time federal agent who led an investigation into performance-enhancing drugs that rocked the sports world more than a decade ago and indirectly led to him joining UFC earlier this year.
Overseeing the organization’s new anti-doping program, Novitzky told USA TODAY this year he has warned UFC’s athletes about the dangers of supplements that could lead to a positive drug test.
Conte, checking out the Intel Pharma products advertised online that purportedly contain banned substances, expressed disbelief. He said one of the products is advertised as a prohormone, which has been banned in the USA since 2005.
“So now one of the biggest stars in UFC, Holly Holm, is endorsing crazy, fringe (supplements) that Novitzky’s known for busting people for doing,’’ Conte said.
Novitzky, who left his job as a federal agent with the Federal Drug Administration earlier this year to join UFC, has called for greater federal scrutiny of the supplement industry.
“One big concern that I have with our athletes, it’s one of the reason I went over to FDA in the latter portion of my career, was the sports supplement, dietary supplement industry,’’ he told USA TODAY Sports. “I’m very concerned about it and the enforcement of it, especially now as it relates to our athletes.
“Almost all of our athletes use some sort of supplement, whether it be a vitamin or protein or whatever, and I cannot advise them enough about how careful they need to be based upon what I saw in the industry, based upon how the FDA was regulating it or enforcing it. It’s a real dangerous area."
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