United States Anti Doping Agency (USADA) recently announced that it had resolved four separate case involving Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighters who recently tested positive for the banned substance ostarine.
Among them were Sean O’ Malley, former UFC women’s Flyweight champion Nicco Montano, Augusto Mendes and Marvin Vettori. All combatants accepted a six-month suspension after USADA came to the conclusion that no ingestion was done intentionally, as the findings were consistent with that of a tainted supplement.
From USADA’s statement:
USADA has resolved the following cases, after conducting a thorough investigation and finding no evidence of intentional use, consistent with other supplement contamination cases:
Augusto Mendes, 36, of Glendale, Ariz., tested positive for ostarine following an out-of-competition test conducted on March 7, 2018. He accepted a six-month period of ineligibility that began on March 20, 2018, the date he was provisionally suspended from competition.
Marvin Vettori, 25, of Mezzocorona, Italy, tested positive for ostarine following an out-of-competition test conducted on August 24, 2018. He accepted a six-month period of ineligibility that began on August 24, 2018, the date he was provisionally suspended from competition.
Sean O’Malley, 24, of Phoenix, Ariz., tested positive for ostarine following out-of-competition tests conducted on September 5, 2018 and December 8, 2018. His two positives were treated as a single, first violation because the amount of ostarine in both samples is consistent with ingestion prior to September 5, 2018. He accepted a six-month period of ineligibility that began on September 19, 2018, the date he was provisionally suspended from competition.
Nicco Montano, 30, of Albuquerque, N.M., tested positive for ostarine following an out-of-competition test conducted on October 25, 2018. She accepted a six-month period of ineligibility that began on November 15, 2018, the date she was provisionally suspended from competition.
USADA also provided a detailed explanation as to what exactly ostarine is:
Ostarine is a non-Specified Substance in the class of Anabolic Agents and prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, which has adopted the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List. Ostarine, also known as MK-2866 and Enobosarm, is a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) that is illegally sold worldwide as a performance-enhancing substance. Ostarine is not currently available as a prescription medication in any country, and its unauthorized use may carry serious side effects. Nonetheless, ostarine has commonly been found as a declared and undeclared ingredient in many dietary supplements. More information about the risks of ostarine can be found through a USADA athlete advisory.
If you’re wondering why USADA hadn’t mentioned anything earlier seeing as how the tests were conducted in 2018, it’s due to its new policy that no case will be made public until a thorough investigation is complete.
Something, I’m sure, both Anderson Silva and Josh Barnett would’ve loved to have in place while they were dealing with their issues with the drug testing agency.