Ty Flores Not Surprised By Recent Rash of Failed Drug Tests in PFL

The lineup for the second leg of the Professional Fighters League
regular season changed significantly when 10 fighters failed drug
tests after the organization’s first three events of 2023.

The light heavyweight field was notably affected, as defending
champion Rob
Wilkinson was one of four athletes — along with Thiago
Santos, Will Fleury
and Krzysztof
Jotko — who was removed from the campaign as a result of those
failed drug tests.

One fighter who remains in contention for the light heavyweight
crown is Ty Flores, who
is coming off a unanimous decision triumph against Delan Monte
at PFL 1. The Elevation Fight Team representative was not surprised
to see so many of his counterparts test positive for banned
substances.

“I don’t think that PFL is alone in that,” Flores said at PFL 4
media day. “People are gonna cheat in sports. There’s always gonna
be cheaters no matter what. I’m never gonna be shocked, especially
in a sport like MMA.”

Flores added that he noticed that some of those PFL light
heavyweights could have been enhanced on the basis of their
appearance alone.

“Did you look at those guys? We talk about [how] you want a level
playing field. I almost feel like I’m the only guy that’s not
[using PEDs],” he said. “I don’t know if you guys were seeing the
same thing that I was, but Jesus Christ, those guys were huge.”

Flores was originally slated to face Wilkinson at
PFL 4, but he’ll now lock horns with Dan Spohn on
short notice this Thursday at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta.

“It’s a little disappointing,” Flores said. “I was gonna get to
face the former champ. It was exciting because I do think he was
the most well-rounded guy in the division. I was looking forward to
it because it was a chance to prove myself.”

Wilkinson was one of 2022’s breakout performers with his PFL
championship win following a short stint with the UFC. Flores can
see why some people might think that victory is now tarnished, but
he also points out that Wilkinson was far from alone in his
transgressions.

“Depending on how you look at it [it could]. He got popped but how
many of those guys last year were on something?” Flores said. “The
majority of them that popped actually lost so it’s not this
end-all, be-all. I don’t think it helps you fight better, but I
think it helps you recover a little bit more.”