OKTAGON introduces systematic anti-doping program: first controls announced for June 2026
European MMA organization OKTAGON has announced the launch of its own anti-doping program, and the first controls are expected to be carried out on June 6, 2026, at the OKTAGON 89 event in Bratislava's Tipos Arena. According to Sportnet's report, the program is being introduced as a system of regular athlete controls according to the standards of the World Anti-Doping Agency, known as WADA, and the Anti-Doping Committee of the Czech Republic, or ADV ČR. The organization also announced that testing will apply to all fighters competing under its umbrella, without exceptions regarding status, popularity, or the importance of the bout. This moves the issue of doping in European MMA, which for years was often reduced to debates, assessments, and individual suspicions, into a more formal framework with rules, procedures, and sanctions.
OKTAGON's move comes at a time of increased international attention to the integrity of sport. The Clean Sport in Action forum was held in Lausanne on April 23 and 24, 2026, announced and organized by the International Testing Agency, the Institute of National Anti-Doping Organizations, and the World Association of Anti-Doping Scientists. According to the ITA's announcement, the gathering focused on the practical implementation of anti-doping programs, the exchange of experience, laboratory practice, operational standards, and better cooperation among organizations that conduct testing. WADA, meanwhile, reported in May 2026 on the activities of its Athlete Council in Auckland, where agency representatives took part in events related to the annual general assembly of the Oceania National Olympic Committees. In this broader context, OKTAGON is now trying to establish a model that could have significance for European professional MMA beyond a single organization.
Cooperation with the Czech anti-doping system
The central operational role in the new program is held by the Anti-Doping Committee of the Czech Republic. On January 20, 2026, ADV ČR announced that it had concluded a cooperation agreement with OKTAGON MMA, emphasizing that the private organization had voluntarily decided to subject its fighters to anti-doping testing even though, as a private entity, it is not obliged to follow the World Anti-Doping Code in the same way as sports federations that are its signatories. In that announcement, ADV ČR director Martin Čížek pointed out that the distinctive feature of the cooperation is precisely its voluntary nature and the fact that an organization with a large reach itself requested the involvement of the state anti-doping authority. According to ADV ČR, OKTAGON finances the testing with its own funds, which distinguishes the program from the usual models in which responsibility arises from the status of a sports federation or an international competition system.
The Czech Olympic Committee states in its anti-doping program that, in the fight against doping, it follows the World Anti-Doping Code and actively cooperates with ADV ČR in the legislative field, in the preparation of Olympic appearances, and in education. For that reason, OKTAGON's initiative can also be viewed within the broader Czech institutional environment, although the officially announced operational cooperation was concluded specifically with ADV ČR. That distinction is important because anti-doping procedures specifically separate political, sporting, and operational responsibility. Testing itself is not conducted by the promotional company, but by certified doping control officers in cooperation with the national anti-doping body, and it is precisely the independence of implementation that is crucial to the credibility of any program.
According to ADV ČR's announcement, negotiations on cooperation lasted approximately six months and covered the scope of testing, the legal framework, and practical implementation. The fact that OKTAGON organizes events in several countries, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Germany, was also taken into account, so the program had to be adapted to the international event schedule. Such a model creates additional logistical requirements because controls are not conducted only in one arena or one country, but follow the organization's competition calendar. ADV ČR stated that the tests will be international and that they will be secured by Czech anti-doping officers.
The first phase is focused on stimulants
The initial phase of the program will not include the full scope of all doping categories, but according to available announcements, it will first focus on stimulants and selected substances considered particularly risky for athlete safety in combat sports. Sportnet states that these are substances that can be used immediately before a fight to increase aggression, suppress pain, or otherwise affect performance. In January, ADV ČR stated that the initial focus on stimulants was set as a realistic entry step, not as an abandonment of a broader anti-doping framework. According to the same body, the goal is to begin where the most frequent and most immediate safety risk is recognized in combat sports.
Ondřej Novotný, co-owner and promoter of OKTAGON, told Sportnet that the organization does not want to create merely a marketing move, but a functional and long-term sustainable system. In an earlier interview with iSport, he stated that the first phase concerns stimulants, which he considers the biggest problem in MMA. In the same interview, he said that the first version of the program does not include steroid testing, while Sportnet stated in a newer report that the next phases plan to expand testing to anabolic substances, steroids, and other forms of doping. This positions the initial model as a gradual introduction, not as the final version of the anti-doping system.
WADA's 2026 Prohibited List of substances and methods entered into force on January 1, 2026, and determines which substances and methods are prohibited in sport, including differences between prohibitions at all times, prohibitions only during competition, and prohibitions in specific sports. WADA states that the list is one of the international standards within the World Anti-Doping Program and that it is regularly updated after a consultation process. Although OKTAGON as a private promoter is not the same as an Olympic sports federation, referring to WADA standards means that the program is trying to move closer to the globally recognizable language of anti-doping rules. For fighters, this is important because it reduces the room for ambiguity about which substances are allowed, which are risky, and what consequences a positive finding may have.
What fighter control will look like
According to Sportnet's report, the first controls will be carried out on June 6, 2026, in Bratislava, and will then continue in Germany during the OKTAGON 91 event in Cologne. OKTAGON's official website states that the OKTAGON 89 event is scheduled for June 6, 2026, at Tipos Arena in Bratislava, with the main bout between Igor Severino and Zhalgas Zhumagulov. According to the announcements, that very event will be the first practical test of a system that had been prepared for months with the Czech anti-doping body. According to the rules published on OKTAGON's website, controls may be carried out on fight day, before the performance, or immediately after it.
According to Sportnet, the selection of athletes for testing will not be in the hands of the promoter, but under the authority of certified doping control officers. This is an important element because a system in which the organizer itself determines who will be tested would not have the same level of credibility. After a fighter receives a notification, he must immediately go to the doping control room, and Sportnet states that the athlete is under the supervision of the officer during the procedure and may not leave the area without an escort. Such rules correspond to the basic logic of anti-doping control: the sample must be collected, documented, and sent for analysis in a way that reduces the possibility of manipulation or procedural errors.
In its description of the International Standard for Testing and Investigations, WADA states that this standard covers test distribution planning, notification of athletes, preparation and execution of sample collection, sample security after collection, documentation, and transport of samples to laboratories. The same standard also includes the collection, assessment, and use of anti-doping intelligence information and the conduct of investigations into possible anti-doping rule violations. In the case of OKTAGON, it has not currently been officially confirmed how broadly these elements will be applied in the initial phase, especially because the program is starting gradually. However, the fact that certified officers and the national anti-doping body will be involved in the procedure indicates an attempt to separate control from the usual internal discipline of a promotional organization.
Sanctions include disqualification, bans from competing, and financial penalties
According to Sportnet, OKTAGON has also announced a system of sanctions accompanying the new program. If laboratory analysis shows the presence of a prohibited substance, the fighter faces disqualification, cancellation of the fight result, a financial sanction of up to 100 percent of the agreed purse, and a ban from competing for six to twelve months. A repeated violation of the rules may lead to a suspension of up to 24 months. Sportnet also states that an automatic one-year ban and a financial sanction of 100 percent also apply to refusing or evading a control.
A special message of the program also concerns people outside the cage. According to the same announcements, the consequences may affect coaches, doctors, or other team members if they were to participate in violating the rules. This is important because doping in professional sport rarely exists only as an individual decision by an athlete; it is often connected to an environment that advises, procures, conceals, or normalizes the use of risky substances. Including support personnel in responsibility is aligned with the basic principle of the anti-doping system, according to which the integrity of competition is protected not only by testing athletes but also by controlling the network of decisions around them.
For professional MMA, financial sanctions can have an equally strong effect as sporting penalties because fighters often depend on individual appearances, contracts, and bonuses. The loss of a result can affect rankings, future contracts, and reputation, while a ban from competing directly affects income. On the other hand, every suspension in a combat sport must be clearly explained and procedurally clean because it can interrupt a relatively short period of a fighter's peak career. Therefore, the credibility of the new program will depend not only on the number of tests, but also on the transparency of the procedure, the quality of laboratory analysis, and the clarity of appeal mechanisms.
Why introducing the program matters for European MMA
MMA in Europe has grown strongly as a commercial sport in recent years, and OKTAGON has positioned itself as one of the most visible organizations in the markets of Central and Western Europe. The organization's official website states that OKTAGON has been operating since 2016 and offers audiences combat sports content from MMA, muay thai, kickboxing, and boxing. The growth of the organization has brought larger arenas, stronger sponsorship interests, greater media space, and increasing demands for professional standards. The anti-doping program is therefore not only a matter of health protection, but also part of the broader institutionalization of a sport that is increasingly competing for a mainstream audience.
In combat sports, doping has an additional dimension compared with sports in which the consequence is seen primarily through result, time, or distance. If a prohibited substance increases strength, endurance, reaction, or pain threshold, the consequences can directly spill over onto the physical safety of the opponent. That is precisely why the safety aspect of stimulants is emphasized in the initial phase of testing in the announcements by ADV ČR and Sportnet. Clean sport in this context does not mean only an equal competitive opportunity, but also a reduction of risk in a sport in which striking is an integral part of competition.
Novotný told Sportnet that OKTAGON is a pioneer in European MMA in this regard and that he considers the program one of the biggest steps in the organization's history toward the professionalization of the sport. That statement should be read as a promoter's statement, but it nevertheless shows the ambition to gradually transfer standards from Olympic and professional sport into European MMA. If the system proves sustainable, it could create pressure on other regional promoters to define their own rules more clearly. If, however, it proves too expensive or insufficiently transparent, questions will arise about how realistic it is for private combat sports organizations to implement programs modeled on large international systems.
Gradual expansion will be the real test of the system
The biggest challenge for OKTAGON will not be only the start of testing in Bratislava, but maintaining the program across several seasons and several countries. In January, ADV ČR stated that a transition toward the full scope of testing is planned over a period of three to five years. This means that the initial focus on stimulants will have to be supplemented by a broader list of substances and methods if the organization wants its system to be comparable in the long term with more developed anti-doping models. Such expansion will require money, logistics, legal clarity, fighter education, and consistency in implementation.
The program will also open practical questions for athletes. Fighters will have to check medications, dietary supplements, and therapies more carefully, especially because doping risks do not appear only in the intentional use of prohibited substances. WADA's rules in the broader sports system are based on the athlete's responsibility for what he or she puts into the body, and a similar principle will probably be important in OKTAGON's model as well. For that reason, education will be crucial if the goal is to avoid a program that produces only punishments and not prevention. Success will also be measured by whether athletes understand the rules in advance, and not only after a positive finding.
For now, it is known that the program starts in June 2026, that the first control is linked to OKTAGON 89 in Bratislava, that a continuation is announced in Germany, and that implementation will be carried out by certified doping control officers in cooperation with the Anti-Doping Committee of the Czech Republic. According to available information, the initial phase primarily covers stimulants, while the full scope of testing is planned to be developed gradually. This is an important change for European MMA because anti-doping is moving from the area of general statements and reputational debates toward rules that can have immediate consequences for a fighter's result, purse, and career.
Sources:
- Sportnet / SME – report on the launch of OKTAGON's anti-doping program, the first controls, sanctions, and statements by Ondřej Novotný (link)
- Antidopingový výbor České republiky – official announcement on the agreement with OKTAGON MMA, the voluntary nature of the program, the start of testing, and the phased development of the system (link)
- OKTAGON MMA – official anti-doping page with control rules and the related disciplinary framework (link)
- OKTAGON MMA – official announcement of the OKTAGON 89 event in Bratislava on June 6, 2026 (link)
- Český olympijský výbor – information on the ČOV anti-doping program, the World Anti-Doping Code, and cooperation with ADV ČR (link)
- International Testing Agency – announcement of the Clean Sport in Action forum in Lausanne on April 23 and 24, 2026 (link)
- WADA – data on the 2026 Prohibited List of substances and methods (link)
- WADA – description of the International Standard for Testing and Investigations and procedures related to the collection and transport of samples (link)
- WADA – announcement on the activities of the Athlete Council in Auckland during meetings of the Oceania National Olympic Committees (link)