"The guy who took down Lance Armstrong" - How the 'Golden Snitch' Jeff Novitzky's crusade led him to becoming a key anti-doping figure at the UFC

Jeff Novitzky may not be a name known to the regular cycling fan, but the man who UFC President Dana White introduces to people as "the guy who took down Lance Armstrong", has had an immeasurable impact on the sport we know and love.

Before Novitzky was the Senior Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance for the UFC, he was a federal agent, leading the criminal investigation into Lance Armstrong and his, at the time suspected, use of performance-enhancing drugs in professional cycling.

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When Armstrong made his bombshell revelation on the Oprah Winfrey Show that he had indeed been doping whilst conquering the cycling world, Novitsky's criminal investigation into the star was quietly shut down. "While that was disappointing, ultimately I think the same end game was met and that was, not just the exposure of Armstrong and US Postal Cycling Team, but all of professional cycling and what was really going on there," Novitzky tells BBC Sport. "You look at him and while you may say he didn't have to pay for it after the criminal investigation was shut down, I don't think that's accurate."

Armstrong was of course stripped of all his titles and overnight went from one of the sports' biggest heroes to it's biggest villain. "He was stripped of all his titles, he still today is considered one of the biggest falls from grace in professional sports, and he will forever have to live with that legacy," Novitzky explains.

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Despite his hard work in the federal investigation not ending in the conviction he would have wished for, Novitzky had impressed people and soon after joined the UFC to aid them in their anti-doping quest where he has since gained the nickname 'the Golden Snitch'.

"I kind of embraced it and I think a lot of people appreciate when you have a little bit of a sense of humour," Novitzky says of the nickname. "You know, snitch isn't necessarily the best nickname to have, but at least it's a golden one."

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"When you catch someone intentionally cheating, that's the purpose of this programme, but I don't get much joy out of it," Novitzky continues. "When I see these positive tests come in I reflect inwards, saying 'what did I not do right to convince this athlete that if they were going to go down this road, they were going to get caught'? So, I'm never clapping or jumping for joy, I think the disappointment side far outweighs the satisfaction side of this."

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