UFC lightweight Gleison Tibau has decided to drop his appeal to USADA after testing positive for EPO, which all but assures him a two-year ban from competition.
Gleison Tibau has fought an incredible 26 times in the UFC, but it will be a long time before he can make appearance #27. The hulking Brazilian lightweight tested positive for EPO in an out-of-competition drug test, news which broke a month after his controversial submission win over Abel Trujillo. His in-competition drug test also resulted in a failure, and after initially denying any wrongdoing, he’s decided to drop the appeal of his failed tests and accept his ban. MMA Junkie has the scoop:
“I’ll take the minimum punishment under the new rules, which is a two-year suspension,” he said today. “So I’ll take the two years.”
One of the major factors in his decision was the cost to go through the whole appeal process.
“It won’t do any good to spend all this money, to simply reduce the penalty by three to six months,” he said. “It’s not worth it. The expense is too great to try to appeal this. So I think I’ll end it now.
“It’s mentally draining, to be in court. I’ll just talk to my team and my manager and tell them I don’t want to appeal. So that’s it – two years – two years years without stepping into the cage. It’s hard for me. I’ve always loved to compete, to be active. Maybe it’s time for me to reinvent myself, learn new techniques, and come back better, stronger and more versatile.”
If it is indeed a two-year ban was expected, Tibau will be 34 years old by the time his suspension is up.