Jose Henrique saw his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) dreams put on ice earlier this week after United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspended the welterweight prospect two years for banned substances.
USADA released an official announcement on Thursday, which confirms Henrique tested positive for two metabolites of the anabolic agent nandrolone during an out-of-competition drug test administered on March 8. Henrique’s suspension is retroactive to this date so he’ll be eligible to return to action on March, 8 2025.
“Upon being added to the UFC Anti-Doping Program, athletes are required to declare prohibited substances they have used in the previous 12 months,” read USADA’s statement. “An athlete who makes such declaration will not be deemed to have committed a violation but, depending on the substance, may be required to refrain from competition for a period of at least six months and provide at least two negative samples.
“[Henrique] did not declare the use of nandrolone and/or other 19-norsteroids on his onboarding declaration forms.”
Henrique, who turned 21 this past May, signed with the promotion back in March. The Brazilian prospect lost his bid on Dana White’s Contender Series back in 2022, but rebounded with a nice knockout victory at Shooto Brazil 115 this past February. That victory landed him a UFC contract and an opportunity to compete inside of the Octagon.
Unfortunately, Henrique’s UFC career has ended before it even started. The 21-year-old prospect didn’t even have a fight scheduled, but still failed an out-of-competition drug test three months ago. He now has to wait two years for his official UFC debut.