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Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz will go down as planned next weekend at MSG.
Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz is on.
UFC officials announced Friday night that the UFC 244 welterweight headliner will remain intact for the Nov. 2 card at Madison Square Garden in New York.
After announcing earlier this week an issue with one of his drug samples, Diaz has been cleared of any wrongdoing by UFC anti-doping partner USADA, per a UFC statement. MMA Junkie first reported the news.
Diaz tested positive for a trace amount of LGD-4033, a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM), which are prohibited under the UFC anti-doping policy at all times. Two bottles of the same organic, vegan, plant-based multivitamin Diaz was using was found to be contaminated with LGD-4033.
Diaz has not committed an anti-doping violation, per the statement, and as a result will not be provisionally suspended and is not facing any sanctions.
Significant changes have been made to the UFC anti-doping policy since Aug. 31, per the statement. It has adopted “scientifically-based decision concentration levels, also known as minimum thresholds, for certain prohibited substances where evidence has shown that positive tests of these substances below the threshold are consistent with innocent contamination.”
Under this new guideline, a positive sample of an applicable substance below the decision concentration level results will be treated as an atypical finding, per the statement. An atypical finding will result in no violation assuming there is no other proof an athlete intended to enhance his or her performance through the use of the substance.
The amount of LGD-4033 found in Diaz’s system was below the decision concentration level results, per the statement.
Diaz said earlier this week that he wouldn’t be able to make it to the highly anticipated fight due to “elevated levels” in one of his drug samples that may have been from a tainted supplement. Diaz said he wouldn’t compete until his name was cleared.
USADA released a brief statement Friday night:
“Following Mr. Diaz’s public comments on Thursday we can confirm that he has not been sanctioned or provisionally suspended by USADA,” it read.
Masvidal vs. Diaz will be contested for the “BMF” title, a one-off belt designed specially for this fight.