PEDs and Injuries

The last 6-12 months in the UFC has been what seems like a never ending tirade of cancellations due to injuries or failed drug tests, I can't help but question whether the two coincide?

Firstly I'd like to say that I am not very educated when it comes to PED's and their effect on training & conditioning on a professional level so I apologize in advance if my thread is ignorant or just pure nonsense.
However, I can't help but see a large trend throughout the UFC regarding forced cancellations.

Is it possible, that due to the recent increase in drug testing across the UFC, fighters who have been using PED's have become spooked or worried & cut out substances they have been using therefore causing an adverse reaction?

Whether it's them to be more sustainable to injuries or it being their body reacting badly to a lack of what it's used to or whether they are training like they used to when they we're 'juiced' up and without it their body is failing them?

After the recent onslaught of positive tests (especially Silva) I can't help but think who isn't on something rather than who is, & if so what lengths would they be willing put their body through in order to maintain the performance they were achieving when using PEDs?

I do not think it's ridiculous to speculate that the two are linked. 

How they're linked? No idea. 

But it stretches belief to suggest "injuries" and increased testing are coincidental. 

* Edited at 02.10.2015, 6:35 PM ET *

I'm pretty sure that just the fact that you're giving yourself the ability to push your body that much farther than it's naturally supposed to go might have some impact. Something along the lines of "the fact I've added an extra gallon to the gas tank doesn't mean the tires can take the extra miles".

On the other hand I also believe that both these "epidemics" have their own unrelated reasons too,

More fighters are getting caught because they're being tested more and with less predictability.

More fighters are pulling out with injuries because with insurance and multitude of annual cards they can allow themselves to pull out for lesser injuries than they used to and with so many more MMA fighters these days and how business oriented the sport has become, the cost of a loss or two is significantly higher than it used to be so they also try not to risk going into a fight beneath optimum level.

I also have a theory that every now and then a fighter gets "injured" when he's matched up against a tough opponent to see if he can get a better one next time, but though I'm 100% sure there are a few of those, I believe their number isn't significant, though when adding to the serious injuries and the ones that are bearable but fighters do pull out on account of them, you get a very high injury ratio that you didn't used to.

* Edited at 02.10.2015, 7:05 PM ET *

Perhaps the PED users are not getting injured in camp and making it fight night. The fighters that are clean or now clean are more susceptible to getting injured in training. 

The problem of the prevalent PED use lies with the UFC higher-ups.

I'm sorry but if I was fighting three times a year and making 20k after expenses, I would take any ******* drug I could to make sure that I got to that octagon in one piece so that I could collect my pay cheque. What the **** does the UFC expect when some of their fighters can make more money working full-time at Starbucks?

The emphasis that they have put on winning in order to keep a job has forced the vast majority of the UFC fighters to take every advantage possible in order to provide food on the table for their respective families and to ultimately provide them the best life possible, because the UFC won't.

There's more to the widespread PED use in MMA than in other sports. Do you honestly blame these guys for doing what they do?

But that's a double edge sword. The more money the fighters make to more pressure there is to maintain their position within the UFC. Also the more money fighters make on average with the UFC, the more it will inspire up and coming fighters outside the UFC to use PED's so they can one day reach that financial pinnacle.

The more money that's at stake the more athletes will look for any competitive advantages.