The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has announced that UFC light heavyweight Ovince Saint Preux has accepted a three-month suspension for an anti-doping violation.
The 36-year-old tested positive for the banned substances “ostarine and di-hydroxy-LGD-4033, a metabolite of LGD-4033, as well as GW1516 sulfone and GW1516 sulfoxide, which are metabolites of GW1516 (also known as GW-501516).” The failed test stemmed from an out-of-competition sample obtained on November 1, 2019.
Both Ostarine and LGD-4033 are non-Specified Substances under the class of Anabolic Agents. As for GW1516, that is a non-Specified Substance under the category of Hormone and Metabolic Modulators. All of these substances are prohibited at all times under USADA rule. USADA investigated the circumstances surrounding Saint Preux’s failed test. “OSP” provided sealed containers of the products he has been using as of late, and they were sent to a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited laboratory in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Despite there being no prohibited substances listed on the containers, testing revealed that they contained traces of ostarine, LGD-4033, and GW1516, all of which “OSP” tested positive for. USADA then determined that “OSP’s” exposure to these substances actually began on October 25, 2019. Because Saint Preux was able to prove he did not knowingly ingest the illegal substances, and they were the result of a tainted supplement, he received a reduction in his period of ineligibility.
His suspension began on October 25, 2019, the date he began using the products, meaning his suspension was lifted on January 25, 2020. He is now free to compete and the suspension is no longer active given it was already served. Saint Preux is the second name this week to be announced as having received a USADA suspension.
What do you make of Ovince Saint Preux’s three-month USADA suspension?