So now that UFC and USADA had to change the drug testing rules to keep Jon Jones in the title picture, it seems every fighter testing positive after his picogram fiasco is reaping the rewards. Take bantamweight sensation Sean O’Malley, for example.
“Sugar,” along with Nicco Montano, Augusto Mendes, and Marvin Vettori, were suspended six months after USADA found them guilty of unintentionally ingesting Ostarine. The official ruling was “contaminated supplement.”
Ya’ know, if you buy that sort of excuse.
That’s the same banned substance that got former UFC middleweight, Tom Lawlor, a two-year suspension. So what’s the major difference between his case and O’Malley’s? I’d say about two years and five months.
Hello @usantidoping can you please explain the difference between the 4 recent cases of @ufc fighters being given 6 months for ostarine while I was sanctioned for 2 years? I’d like to believe in fairness by your organization but I would like some clarity please.
— “Filthy” Tom Lawlor (@FilthyTomLawlor) April 25, 2019
“While the facts in Lawlor are similar but not necessarily identical to the ostarine cases announced this week, he received the standard sanction at the time for his violation announced in 2017,” USADA communications director Adam Woullard told MMA Fighting. “If his case arose today, he might have been eligible for a lower sanction and would have the ability to challenge to an independent arbitrator to determine the final consequence.”
Lawlor was tested out-of-competition and did not have a fight booked at the time of his exam, which returned a laughable 17 picograms of ostarine. Unfortunately for the “Filthy” fan favorite, there were no press conferences, no comparisons to salty swimming pools, and no sellout to champion his cause.
Hey, we warned you they were full of shit.