Lyoto Machida has been removed from Saturday’s UFC on FOX 19 co-main event with Dan Henderson after admitting to taking a banned substance during an out-of-competition test. Machida stated he did not know the substance was banned to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
Machida is a former UFC light heavyweight champion and one-time middleweight title contender. He previously bested Henderson.
Saturday’s card has taken quite the hit since it was first announced. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was the first to bow out, exiting a planned fight with Rashad Evans. He was replaced by Glover Teixeira, and that bout moved into the main event role when Tony Ferguson was injured and forced out of a fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The UFC has released a statement regarding the matter:
The UFC organization was made aware today by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, that Lyoto Machida declared the usage of a banned substance during an out-of-competition sample collection last week. Machida stated that he was unaware that the substance was prohibited both in and out of competition and, in accordance with the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, his disclosure of usage will be taken into consideration by USADA during any potential results management and adjudication process.
Given this information, UFC officials have elected to remove Machida from his scheduled bout against Dan Henderson this Saturday in Tampa, Fla. Henderson will be re-booked for a new bout in the near future.
The new FOX main card will feature these four bouts, according to UFC representative Dave Sholler:
New FOX Main Card: Glover-Rashad, Rose-Tecia, Khabib-Horcher, Swanson-Dias
— Dave Sholler (@Sholler_UFC) April 13, 2016