It would seem as if this weekend’s (Sat., April 16, 2016) UFC on FOX 19 from Tampa, Florida, just can’t catch a break.
After Tony Ferguson was forced out of his awaited match-up with top-ranked lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov, another high-profile fighter has been forced off the card for much more nefarious reasons.
Lyoto Machida has been handed a potential USADA violation for testing positive in an out-of-competition test and his fight with Dan Henderson has been canceled. Machida admitted to taking the substance, stating that he did not know it was banned in or out of competition.
The UFC announced the news on their website with the following statement:
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.
A former light heavyweight champion, ‘The Dragon’ has fallen on tough times as of late, losing three out of his past four fights to top middleweights Chris Weidman, Luke Rockhold, and Yoel Romero.
As always, Machida will be given the due process granted to all fighters who test positive for a ‘potential’ violation, but considering he’s admitted to taking the substance, the process could be rather cut and dry.
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