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Female flyweight Isabela de Padua failed two different USADA tests and won’t be able to compete until November 2021.
It will be a while until we see female flyweight Isabela de Padua in the Octagon again.
The UFC’s official website announced that the Brazilian fighter failed two different USADA tests, an in-competition one on the day of her fight against Ariane Lipski, November 16 2019, and an out-of-competition one on December 19. In both exams, Isabela tested positive for 19-NA, the main metabolite of banned steroid nandrolone.
That was De Padua’s UFC debut, and per USADA’s policy, all athletes are to declare all medications and supplements they have taken in the past 12 months prior to entering the testing pool. Previous use of prohibited substances prior to signing with the UFC wouldn’t have resulted in a violation if it was disclosed, but according to the statement, De Padua did not declare the use of nandrolone.
The failure resulted in a two-year suspension effective November 16 2019, making ‘Belinha’ unable to return until November 2021.
Nandrolone is the same substance that was found in multiple UFC champions in the past such as Josh Barnett, Ken Shamrock, Royce Gracie, and Sean Sherk.
De Padua (5-2) dropped a unanimous decision to Lipski, in a fight she took on short notice and missed the flyweight mark by 4.5 pounds. Before the loss, the 28-year-old was on a five-fight streak on the Brazilian regional circuit, where she gathered two TKO wins, two decision wins and one victory by submission.