Ex-UFC star claims LeBron James takes EPO drug to prolong NBA playing years

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Huge allegations were just thrown by ex-UFC star Chael Sonnen to NBA living legend LeBron James during another episode of the Flagrant podcast uploaded on YouTube last March 8, 2023.

Sonnen, who also admitted that he took performance-enhancing drugs (PED) during his heydays in the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) scene, exposed James and said that he had been taking Erythropoietin (EPO) to keep him in shape in the NBA despite playing at the age of 38.

EPO is a kind of PED that stimulate red blood cells in the bone marrow and is highly regarded to be a top-tier drug around the world.

“EPO matters. It’s the reason LeBron takes it. It matters. EPO increases your red blood cells, which gives you endurance so you could play all game long. It’s the king of performance enhancers,” said Sonnen during the podcast.

The former light heavyweight no.1 contender also explained the advantages someone will have after taking these kinds of PED, stating that recovery after a grueling training session can take effect in just a day, and it can also make you a stronger and faster athlete.

This is not the first time that James was involved in a PED allegation, with the first dating back to his time with the Miami Heat.

The NBA’s scoring leader was linked to a PED issue with Biogenesis in America, saying that James is also an active client of Anthony Bosch, the person who runs the clinic.

IBN Sports Wrap first released the report after they interviewed one of Bosch’s former employees in Biogenesis and was also the one handling the financial transactions from several big names in the sports industry.

Despite the allegations thrown at James, enough concrete pieces of evidence of him purchasing and taking PED’s yet to be presented to the NBA for further investigation.

“We have the same drug guy. I know exactly what he is doing. EPO is king to everything,” added Sonnen.