The longtime UFC lightweight and welterweight was recently granted his release from the promotion. And this latest news seems likely behind the decision.
It seems that Michel Prazeres’ MMA career may have to an unfortunate close. The longtime lightweight and welterweight athlete has seemingly stepped away from mixed martial arts, on the heels of a recent USADA press release—stating that the 40-year-old had accepted a four year suspension from the drug testing agency due to multiple positive samples for performance enhancing substances.
Prazeres, 40, tested positive for clomiphene and its metabolites (desethyl-clomiphene, clomiphene M1, and clomiphene M2), oxandrolone metabolites, and the exogenous administration of testosterone and/or its precursors as the result of urine samples collected out-of-competition on August 27, 2021, September 16, 2021, October 15, 2021, and November 2, 2021.
USADA used Carbon Isotope Ratio (CIR) testing to determine the presence of externally administered hormones in Prazeres’ system, along with the presence of the drug clomiphene—a substance often used to help athletes recover from the physical side effects of steroid use.
This is the second time Prazeres has faced USADA sanctions. In February of last year, the drug testing agency announced that ‘Trator’ had accepted a two year ban—stretching back to March of 2019. He had tested positive for the anabolic agent Boldanone in two out-of-competition samples collected shortly following his loss to Ismael Naurdiev. Prazeres returned from that suspension on June 26, 2021, where he lost to Shavkat Rakhmonov by submission.
The Tractor Team talent will be eligible to compete once again in the US (and/or other USADA tested events) on August 27th, 2025, at which point he’ll be 44-years-old.
Shortly before this latest USADA announcement, Prazeres had announced his exit from the UFC saying that he had asked to be released from the promotion and planned to focus on his Jiu Jitsu business interests for the immediate future. At the time, Prazeres declined to explain what had prompted his desire to leave the world’s largest MMA organization.
While reports were made that Prazeres had retired from MMA in light of his latest drug test failure,he has since spoken to MMA Fighting, where he gave an unabashed take on his current status as a competitor.
“I couldn’t give a sh-t [about USADA],” Prazeres stated. “I can fight in Brazil, I can make money in Brazil.”
He also explained his side of the ordeal, saying that his positive tests were the result of fertility treatments. Prazeres even apparently admitted to past use of oxandrolone, but claimed he hadn’t done so for nearly a decade.
“I told [USADA] everything. I said my wife and I were doing treatment to have another baby,” Prazeres said. “This is not a steroid, this is a medication. They interviewed me, my wife and my doctor, they took all the receipts and medical records, the exams I’ve done, and these sons of b-tches still do that?”
“USADA is a b-tch, it’s a wh-re,” Prazeres said. “They punish the person as they please.”
Prazeres went 10-4 over his 8 years with the UFC, picking up victories over Mairbek Taisumov and Gilbert Burns along the way. If this truly is the end of his MMA career, he’ll retire with an overall record of 26-4 along with a couple serious asterisks.