Alexander Shlemenko is continuing to fight his suspension after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.
The former Bellator middleweight champion filed a petition for writ of administrative mandamus in Los Angeles County against the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) last week in an attempt to get his three-year suspension and $10,000 fine overturned. Shlemenko is asking that a Superior Court review and reverse the final decision of CSAC. He was granted a trial setting conference Dec. 2.
Shlemenko, 31, was hit with the hefty suspension and fine at an appeal hearing in June. The Russia native tested positive for anabolic steroids before his second-round knockout win over Melvin Manhoef at Bellator 133 on Feb. 13 in Fresno, Calif.
The results of a fight-night urine test on Shlemenko showed that he had a 50:1 testosterone/epitestosterone ratio. Anything more than 4:1 is illegal for an MMA fighter or boxer in California. The steroid oxandrolone and oxandrolone metabolites also showed up in Shelemenko’s system. A second test of the sample confirmed the initial results. Shlemenko’s victory was also overturned into a no-contest.
The argument made by Shlemenko’s attorney Howard Jacobs at the appeal hearing was that CSAC never collected a B sample and the three-year ban was only put on the table five days before the hearing — after Shlemenko declined to accept a shorter sentence and went forward with the appeal. Shlemenko’s team believed that to be retribution for not agreeing to a deal. Jacobs said the initial penalty would have been a one-year suspension and $2,500 fine. CSAC’s regulations do not require a B sample.
Previously, a first-time offender like Shlemenko would have been given a nine-month or one-year suspension. But CSAC and commissions across the country are cracking down on PED users. Shlemenko also had an egregiously high T/E ratio. Shlemenko has denied using any kind of performance-enhancing drugs.
Shlemenko (51-9, 1 NC) held the Bellator middleweight title from 2013 until September 2014 when he lost it to Brandon Halsey. He holds an 11-3 (1 NC) record with Bellator with losses coming to Halsey, Hector Lombard and Tito Ortiz. The latter came in a light heavyweight bout.