The return of “Sugar” Sean O’Malley will have to wait even longer.
According to a recent Instagram post from O’Malley himself, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) is issuing a temporary suspension for the 24-year-old after recent USADA testing found trace amounts of the banned substance ostarine, which O’Malley tested positive for just last year.
The promising bantamweight prospect was only suspended six months by USADA for that first offense due to the fact that the small amounts found were consistent with supplement contamination.
While O’Malley will not face any re-sanctions from USADA, who determined the new findings give the fighter “no performance advantage,” the “extremely low level” of ostarine in his system will prohibit him from competing at UFC 239 on July 6 against Marlon Vera as NSAC runs through its investigation.
Here is O’Malley’s complete post explaining the situation:
“USADA has notified me that ostarine, the substance that showed up in my system last year and led to USADA sanctioning me, has resurfaced at an extremely low level in two recent tests,” O’Malley wrote. “The good news is that USADA says this is most likely residual from last year and that the low level is providing me with no performance advantage. That’s why USADA is not re-sanctioning me for these test results. I already served a USADA sanction for the presence of ostarine in my system, and it has decreased dramatically since last year.
“The bad news is that the Nevada State Athletic Commission has temporarily suspended me while they look into the situation. I feel terrible to let down my fans who were looking forward to watching me fight in Las Vegas next month, I look forward to publicly discussing my case before the Nevada State Athletic Commission with scientific experts who can explain why very low levels of ostarine are showing up in my system.
“I want to make one thing very clear: I have never purposely taken any prohibited substance to gain an advantage. I will subject myself to whatever additional testing is required of me by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. I want to get this situation finally cleared up so I can return to the Octagon as soon as I can.”
This really is a shame considering O’Malley is one of the more exciting fighters in the UFC’s stacked 135-pound division. And even though this “resurface” of banned substances resembles that of current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and his infamous picograms, O’Malley will be investigated before he’s cleared to compete with something in his system, whether the trace amounts are small or not.
O’Malley, who remains adamant that he did nothing wrong, provided his fans with the following message:
“Punished twice for doing nothing wrong. I have never taken anything illegal. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I will continue to train and get better everyday.”
Stick with Mania for further developments.