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Continued issues with failed drug tests for Ostarine have kept O’Malley out of competition for almost two years. His most recent being a 6-month suspension for a failed drug test on August 6th, 2019.
One of MMA’s most flamboyant and fascinating prospects is finally looking to get clear of his ongoing drug testing woes. Former Dana White’s Contender Series alumn ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley is set to fight Jose Alberto Quinonez at UFC 248. However, before the bout can take place, he’ll need to complete his period of ineligibility stemming from an August drug test failure.
O’Malley failed a set of out-of-competition drug tests administered by USADA on August 6th and 12th. In those tests, the MMA Lab fighter popped positive for ostarine. The same contaminant that has caused issues for a number of UFC fighters in recent years—and that O’Malley originally tested positive for back in September of 2018.
A statement released by USADA on January 9th clarified that “the pattern of low urinary ostarine concentrations observed in multiple samples provided by O’Malley was consistent with exposure to ostarine as a contaminant.” And as such, the drug testing organization found “no evidence of intentional use.” The result: a six-month suspension stretching back to August 6th.
That should have the bantamweight primed to return to competition by early February, plenty of time for his March 7th PPV booking against ‘Teco’ Quinonez.
O’Malley vs. Quinonez is penciled to take place on the prelim portion of UFC 248. The card is expected to be headlined by a women’s strawweight title fight between title holder Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk. A middleweight bout between former champion Robert Whittaker and rising contender Jared Cannonier is planned for the co-main event.