UFC veteran Erik Koch popped for steroids in a recent USADA test.
Remember Erik Koch? He was a WEC prospect who was supposed to face Jose Aldo for a title shot back in 2012. Injuries to both himself and Aldo prevented that fight from ever happening even after it was rescheduled, and he never actually did get his title shot.
Fast forward to 2021 and Koch has just received a USADA ban after testing positive for the banned substance 3’-hydroxy-stanozolol, which is a stanozolol metabolite aka a steroid.
From the official press release:
Koch, 32, tested positive for 3?-hydroxy-stanozolol, a metabolite of stanozolol, as the result of a urine sample collected on October 3, 2020. Stanozolol is a non-Specified Substance in the class of Anabolic Agents and prohibited at all times under the UFC ADP and UFC Prohibited List.
Koch received a six-month reduction to the default two-year sanction based on his Full and Complete Cooperation (FCC) based on the unique circumstances of his case. Under the UFC ADP, USADA may grant an FCC reduction in the event an athlete demonstrates that they did not intend to enhance their performance and provided full, prompt, and truthful responses and information to all reasonable inquiries and requests for information.
Koch (16-6) did end his UFC career on a win in 2019, going up to welterweight and beating Kyle Stewart by unanimous decision at UFC 240. He didn’t fight at all in 2020 and last December it was confirmed that he parted ways with the promotion, a couple of months after his positive drug test occurred.
When Koch didn’t get the Aldo fight for the featherweight belt as intended, he suffered consecutive defeats to Ricardo Lamas and Dustin Poirier, which prompted a move to lightweight. He had mixed results at 155 lbs and had more than a few cancelled fights due to injuries throughout his career. Now he’s out of the UFC and his USADA ban won’t end until April of 2022.