Kelvin Gastelum failed a drug test for marijuana metabolites and is out of UFC 212 fight with Anderson Silva

USADA has just announced that Kelvin Gastelum has failed a drug test for marijuana metabolites, pulling him from a UFC 212 fight against Anderson Silva.

Kelvin Gastelum has once again been pulled from a high profile fight.

The first time, he was set to fight Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 205 in New York City, but his weight cut went so sideways that Gastelum didn’t even bother to show up at the official morning weigh-ins. Now, a failed USADA drug test has resulted in Kelvin losing a big fight against Anderson Silva that was supposed to go down on June 3rd at UFC 212 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

According to a report from MMAFighting.com, Gastelum’s failed drug test originates from a sample taken the day of his UFC Fight Night 106 bout against Vitor Belfort, which the American won via TKO just under four minutes into the first round. The substance deteceted was Carboxy-THC, a metabolite that could come from marijuana or hashish.

It’s pretty hard to fail a drug test for marijuana metabolites these days now that USADA and most commissions have upped the amount you need to smoke during the ‘in competition’ phase to pop positive. But that’s exactly what Kelvin Gastelum has done, and not only is it costing him the biggest fight of his career, it will probably earn him a suspension as well. Plus the good will of the UFC, which somehow survived the UFC 205 incident.

Here’s the UFC’s full statement on the matter:

The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) informed Kelvin Gastelum of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation involving Carboxy-Tetrahydrocannabinol (“Carboxy-THC”) which is a metabolite of marijuana and/or hashish, above the decision limit of 150 ng/mL, stemming from an in-competition sample collected in conjunction with his recent bout in Fortaleza, Brazil on March 11, 2017.

USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Gastelum, as it relates to the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and future UFC participation. Because the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA) was the regulatory body overseeing the fight in Fortaleza and has licensing jurisdiction over Gastelum, USADA will work to ensure that the Commission has the necessary information to determine its proper judgment of Gastelum’s potential anti-doping violation. Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.

As a result of the potential anti-doping violation against Gastelum, USADA has placed him under a provisional suspension. While the UFC Anti-Doping Policy affords Gastelum full and fair due process rights before any possible adjudication of his case, because of the proximity to Gastelum’s scheduled June 3rd bout against Anderson Silva, Gastelum is being removed from the card and a replacement is currently being sought.

For more news on UFC 212 and other upcoming UFC cards, click here.

USADA has just announced that Kelvin Gastelum has failed a drug test for marijuana metabolites, pulling him from a UFC 212 fight against Anderson Silva.

Kelvin Gastelum has once again been pulled from a high profile fight.

The first time, he was set to fight Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 205 in New York City, but his weight cut went so sideways that Gastelum didn’t even bother to show up at the official morning weigh-ins. Now, a failed USADA drug test has resulted in Kelvin losing a big fight against Anderson Silva that was supposed to go down on June 3rd at UFC 212 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

According to a report from MMAFighting.com, Gastelum’s failed drug test originates from a sample taken the day of his UFC Fight Night 106 bout against Vitor Belfort, which the American won via TKO just under four minutes into the first round. The substance deteceted was Carboxy-THC, a metabolite that could come from marijuana or hashish.

It’s pretty hard to fail a drug test for marijuana metabolites these days now that USADA and most commissions have upped the amount you need to smoke during the ‘in competition’ phase to pop positive. But that’s exactly what Kelvin Gastelum has done, and not only is it costing him the biggest fight of his career, it will probably earn him a suspension as well. Plus the good will of the UFC, which somehow survived the UFC 205 incident.

Here’s the UFC’s full statement on the matter:

The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) informed Kelvin Gastelum of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation involving Carboxy-Tetrahydrocannabinol (“Carboxy-THC”) which is a metabolite of marijuana and/or hashish, above the decision limit of 150 ng/mL, stemming from an in-competition sample collected in conjunction with his recent bout in Fortaleza, Brazil on March 11, 2017.

USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Gastelum, as it relates to the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and future UFC participation. Because the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA) was the regulatory body overseeing the fight in Fortaleza and has licensing jurisdiction over Gastelum, USADA will work to ensure that the Commission has the necessary information to determine its proper judgment of Gastelum’s potential anti-doping violation. Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.

As a result of the potential anti-doping violation against Gastelum, USADA has placed him under a provisional suspension. While the UFC Anti-Doping Policy affords Gastelum full and fair due process rights before any possible adjudication of his case, because of the proximity to Gastelum’s scheduled June 3rd bout against Anderson Silva, Gastelum is being removed from the card and a replacement is currently being sought.

For more news on UFC 212 and other upcoming UFC cards, click here.