Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos had to fight tooth and nail to clear his name with USADA.
After testing positive for a banned substance, Dos Santos gathered all the proof he needed to show he had not intentionally taken anything performance-enhancing, resulting in him being cleared to fight immediately following a six-month suspension from USADA.
But he’ll never get back the time he lost.
Dos Santos told ESPN this week that the process was grueling in proving his innocence, as a specialist had given him the banned diuretic without his knowledge:
“I am not a cheater. Since the first day we found out about this, we have cooperated with USADA and done everything they’ve asked or suggested to prove this was not intentional doping. It’s taken a really long time.
“I was happy when those results came back, because I thought it was done. They would see it’s not my fault and I could resume fighting. But then, they started to say other things, like maybe I could have contaminated them on purpose. I said, ‘My God, I’m not a chemist.’
“When they found my supplements were contaminated, it was already four months. Now it’s been another four months for them to figure the rest out, and finally find the truth.”
Dos Santos, as well as Antônio Rogerio ‘Little Nog’ Nogueira, were using Dr. Maria Amelia Bogea in their native Brazil, who ultimately supplied them with the banned diuretic they had tested positive for.
Dos Santos was initially scheduled to fight Francis Ngannou last year, but the USADA suspension forced him into suspension.
Now, the former champion is set to return after proving his innocence. Whom should be face in his overdue return, and does USADA have some cleaning up to do in order to avoid situations like this in the future?
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