UFC bantamweight Ashlee Evans-Smith’s return to the Octagon will have to wait until next year after she tested positive for a steroid by USADA.
USADA announced the news of Evans-Smith’s positive test, along with a 14-month suspension, on Monday.
According to USADA, Evans-Smith tested positive for “an anabolic androgenic steroid of exogenous origin” following urine samples taken on Jan. 3 and Jan. 27. The 14-month suspension is retroactive to Jan. 3, meaning she won’t be able to compete again until March 3, 2023, at the earliest.
Evans-Smith most recently competed against Norma Dumont at a Nov. 2020 Fight Night event, losing via a unanimous decision. Her last win came against Bec Rawlings at UFC 223.
Back in Sept. 2016, Evans-Smith was slated to face Germaine de Randamie before de Randamie withdrew with a foot injury. She went on to face short-notice replacement Veronica Macedo, earning a third-round TKO victory.
This would be the beginning of Evans-Smith’s struggles in the Octagon, as she has now lost four of her last five since the short-notice fight with Macedo.
Evans-Smith made her UFC debut back at UFC 181, losing in a first-round submission to Raquel Pennington. She signed with the UFC following wins over Fallon Fox, Tori Adams, and Marciea Allen in World Series of Fighting and CFA.
This is the second occasion that Evans-Smith has been served with a suspension for a failed drug test. Back in Feb. 2015, she tested positive for a diuretic by the Nevada Athletic Commission and was handed a nine-month suspension.
Evans-Smith has yet to comment publically on the news of her positive drug test and punishment.
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