The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced on Wednesday that mixed martial arts veteran Lyoto Machida has tested positive for a banned substance, per the UFC Anti-Doping Policy.
The UFC released a statement via its official website and confirmed the United States Anti-Doping Agency had brought to its attention that Machida “declared the usage of a banned substance during an out-of-competition sample collection last week”:
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.
Machida has been removed from the UFC on Fox 19 card in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday, where he was scheduled to fight Dan Henderson. Hollywood didn’t respond well to the revelation:
Performance-enhancing drugs and doping violations have become a hot topic of discussion in mixed martial arts circles, and Wednesday’s news serves as the latest smudge on the UFC’s record when it comes to regulating banned substances.
There are no details yet regarding Machida’s positive test.
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