There won’t be any last-minute changes to the UFC card this week.
All 16 fighters who were tested out of competition from UFC Fight Night: Mir vs. Duffee came back clean, according to California State Athletic Commission executive officer Andy Foster. It was the largest amount of competitors tested out of competition in state history. The event takes place Wednesday night at Valley View Casino Center in San Diego.
UFC lightweight Gilbert Melendez also tested negative in the full anabolic screen. Melendez, who was supposed to face Al Iaquinta in the co-main event, will no longer be competing on the card, because he tested positive for exogenous origin of testosterone metabolites in his fight-night test at UFC 188 on June 13 in Mexico City. It is certainly possible that any drugs had left his system between the date of the bout with Eddie Alvarez and his pre-fight test.
Melendez, who lost by unanimous decision to Alvarez, was suspended one year by the UFC. Melendez denied knowingly taking any banned substances.
“I did not inject anything, but I am responsible and accept the consequences for the results,” Melendez said in a statement. “I will make sure I am better educated about the products I use and their implications.
CSAC was not able to test any foreign fighters from the San Diego event out of competition, but all fighters will be subjected to fight-night screening and potential carbon isotope ratio testing.
UFC Fight Night 71 is headlined by a heavyweight contender bout between Todd Duffee and Frank Mir. The co-main event features top lightweights Tony Ferguson and Josh Thomson and Holly Holm and Marion Reneau will meet in an important women’s bantamweight encounter.