Former UFC light heavyweight champion and one-time middleweight title contender Lyoto Machida has been suspended 18 months by the USADA for use of a banned substance.
Earlier this year, Machida admitted taking the substance prior to a fight in April with Dan Henderson. He was subsequently removed from that contest and eventually failed an out-of-competition drug test.
The suspension, first reported by FOXSports.com, is retroactive to April and will allow “The Dragon” to compete once more in October 2017.
“During an out-of-competition test conducted on April 8, 2016, Machida, 38, declared the use of a product containing 7‐keto-dehydroepiandrosterone (7‐keto‐DHEA) on his sample collection paperwork. 7‐keto‐DHEA is a prohibited substance in the class of Anabolic Agents and prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, which has adopted the WADA Prohibited List,” USADA officials wrote in the release. “Machida’s sample was analyzed at a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited laboratory and reported to USADA for an elevated 7β-hydroxy-DHEA to DHEA ratio, which is consistent with his declared use of a prohibited substance.”
Former UFC light heavyweight champion and one-time middleweight title contender Lyoto Machida has been suspended 18 months by the USADA for use of a banned substance.
Earlier this year, Machida admitted taking the substance prior to a fight in April with Dan Henderson. He was subsequently removed from that contest and eventually failed an out-of-competition drug test.
The suspension, first reported by FOXSports.com, is retroactive to April and will allow “The Dragon” to compete once more in October 2017.
“During an out-of-competition test conducted on April 8, 2016, Machida, 38, declared the use of a product containing 7?keto-dehydroepiandrosterone (7?keto?DHEA) on his sample collection paperwork. 7?keto?DHEA is a prohibited substance in the class of Anabolic Agents and prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, which has adopted the WADA Prohibited List,” USADA officials wrote in the release. “Machida’s sample was analyzed at a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited laboratory and reported to USADA for an elevated 7?-hydroxy-DHEA to DHEA ratio, which is consistent with his declared use of a prohibited substance.”
Longtime MMA star Dan Henderson officially retired after his close unanimous decision loss to Michael Bisping in the main event of last night’s (Sat., October 8, 2016) UFC 204 from Manchester Arena in Manchester, England, and he did so in the style that only the heavy-hitting “Hendo” could. A throwback to an earlier era of MMA
Longtime MMA star Dan Henderson officially retired after his close unanimous decision loss to Michael Bisping in the main event of last night’s (Sat., October 8, 2016) UFC 204 from Manchester Arena in Manchester, England, and he did so in the style that only the heavy-hitting “Hendo” could.
A throwback to an earlier era of MMA where fighters fought to compete rather than gather social media followers, “Hendo” went out with a bang by nearly finishing now-champ Bisping in the same fashion in which he so iconically did at 2009’s UFC 100. In the end, the 46-year-old Henderson was edged out by Bisping’s far superior aggression, striking volume, and accuracy, but the two “H-Bombs” that nearly put “The Count’s” lights out in the first and second round were more than enough for most Hendo fans to believe their man had done enough to win.
While that’s a tough proposition to do against the champion in his home (and in a fight where he rarely pushed the action), the once-named “Hollywood” made things as dramatic as ever, and that is why he will go down as one of the most revered fighters in UFC and MMA history.
His story is a unique one. After a Greco Roman wrestling career that twice saw him compete in the Summer Olympics, Henderson first fought in the UFC in only his third MMA fight, defeating Allan Goes by decision on May 15, 1998 before outlasting Carlos Newton on the same night to win the UFC 17 Middleweight Tournament Final. After a string of six decision wins in seven bouts saw him dubbed “Decision Dan,” Hendo refuted the notion by becoming “Hollywood” in Pride due to his highlight reel finishes.
There, he fought a who’s who of Japanese MMA at the time, winning the welterweight championship and defeating Wanderlei Silva for the middleweight belt to become the first simultaneous two-weight champion in Pride. He remains the only man to do so.
In the Octagon, Hendo never won the one title that eluded him, falling just short against elite fighters such as Anderson Silva, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, and Bisping. Obviously he did etch his name into UFC history with possibly the most infamous knockout ever for his one-punch decimation of Bisping at UFC 100.
He even left for Strikeforce after a contract dispute following his historic knockout of Bisping, becoming their 205-pound champion by knocking out Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante. Henderson then knocked out arguably the best heavyweight of all-time when he floored Fedor Emelianenko in 2011.
That was enough for the UFC to re-sign him, and his third UFC run began with a fight that many feel may be the greatest MMA bout of all-time, his classic UFC 139 war with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. It was the kind of bouts fans came to love and respect from Henderson.
That fight lead to a light heavyweight champion to dominant then-champ Jon Jones, but the bout never happened when Henderson injured his knee and ‘Bones’ refused to fight anyone on short notice, leading to the the promotion’s first ever cancellation of an event with UFC 151.
Hendo never seemed to quite bounce back from the over yearlong layoff that resulted, dropping narrow, uninspired split decisions to Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans in 2013 before he was knocked out by the almost superhuman force of TRT-era Vitor Belfort (yes, it also deserves to be noted that Henderson was a pioneer of sorts of TRT use in MMA, being one of the first to secure a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for the treatment).
His UFC run ended with seven losses in his last 10 bouts, but any MMA fan couldn’t help but forget all about those when Henderson rallied to knock out Hector Lombard with, of all things, a back-elbow, head kick, forearm smash combination at UFC 199. It was enough to get him a revenge-based title shot against Bisping despite the backlash due to the bout’s accused refusal to adhere to anything close to resembling a fair rankings system.
It happened, and Henderson and Bisping delivered a classic. True, Henderson came up just short, but even the Manchester fans gave him a rousing ovation after he nearly knocked out their famed hometown champion on more than one occasion.
Henderson was a throwback of MMA gone past who still brought the excitement needed to gain attention in today’s increasingly fast-paced, attention-starved world. There simply won’t be another fighter like him, and while he may not have had his hand raised every time, it was most certainly guaranteed you would be seeing a show.
“Hendo,” “Hollywood,” “Dangerous,” or even “Decision Dan,” Henderson was, is, and always will be an MMA legend. In his case, the UFC belt doesn’t prove or disprove that, yet he battled the only way he knew how to in one last war last with Bisping night.
Chinzo Machida, the brother of former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, is set to make his long-awaited debut with Bellator this month, according to a repo…
Chinzo Machida, the brother of former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, is set to make his long-awaited debut with Bellator this month, according to a report by MMA Fighting.
Machida, a 39-year-old featherweight who has gone 3-2 over his MMA career, will meet Mario Navarro on the prelims of Bellator 160.
The last time Machida was in action came at Resurrection Fighting Alliance 15 when he delivered a decision win over Dima Gerasimov. He signed with Bellator in late 2014.
Navarro sports a 4-4 mark and has not fought since 2014 when he was bested twice. He did compete for Bellator in 2012, losing to Anthony Bain.
Bellator 160 takes place August 26 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, as Patricio “Pitbull” Freire meets Benson Henderson in the main event on Spike TV.
Dan Henderson is heading into the final fight of his UFC contract when he takes on Hector Lombard at UFC 199 on June 4, 2016 and it just may very well be his last. In a recent interview with MMAJunkie, ‘Hendo’ admitted if negotiations don’t improve that it could be the end of his fighting career:
Dan Henderson is heading into the final fight of his UFC contract when he takes on Hector Lombard at UFC 199 on June 4, 2016 and it just may very well be his last. In a recent interview with MMAJunkie, ‘Hendo’ admitted if negotiations don’t improve that it could be the end of his fighting career:
“I’m definitely capable of keeping on and still competing at a high level, but I’m almost ready to retire, and depending on how things play out after this fight with negotiations, yeah, it could be my last,”
Henderson also expressed that fighting for another promotion, if negotiations fall through with the UFC, is very much a possibility:
“Or maybe I’ll still fight. I don’t know yet. I’m at that point where I’m about ready, but definitely, I know in my heart I’m still capable of doing it and if I do decide to keep going on I’ll make sure I do it well.”
‘Hendo’ then went on to discuss his previously scheduled opponent in Lyoto Machida, who was force out of the bout after testing positive for a banned substance:
“When they told me what had happened with Lyoto they had already had this on the books with Hector Lombard, June 4th, in L.A.,” he said. “Just to soften the blow they already had that arranged.
“Instead of fighting a guy that runs all the time I got a guy that runs at you the whole time – at least for the first few minutes.
“It’s a totally different style, just a completely different fighter I’m training for. It is what it is I think it’s – the fight with Hector Lombard is definitely something the fans will enjoy more than watching Machida run around the whole time.”
Henderson (31-14) is coming off of an upsetting first round loss to Vitor Belfort back in November in Brazil, where Belfort ended Henderson’s night early with a devastating head kick.
Lombard (34-5-1(2)) is coming off a third round TKO loss to Neil Magny in March that saw the Cuban gas out early in the bout after returning from over a year out of competition after he served a year-long suspension for testing positive for a banned substance.
UFC 199 takes place live from The Forum in Inglewood, California on Saturday, June 4th, on pay-per-view.
You got USADA’d! ‘The Count’ blasts Yoel Romero and Lyoto Machida, and also reveals his title shot hopes after UFC 199… UFC middleweight contender Michael Bisping has hovered around the top of the 185-pound division for years now. The brash British banger has fought the truly elite of the division, including five former or future
You got USADA’d! ‘The Count’ blasts Yoel Romero and Lyoto Machida, and also reveals his title shot hopes after UFC 199…
UFC middleweight contender Michael Bisping has hovered around the top of the 185-pound division for years now. The brash British banger has fought the truly elite of the division, including five former or future UFC or Pride FC champions during his 10-year tenure for the promotion, but has never quite been able to break in to the much coveted title fight. In terms of fighting fighters with chequered pasts in relation to performance enhancing drugs, Bisping has been there and got the t-shirt too.
Wanderlei Silva (alleged, fled a NSAC drug test), Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Anderson Silva, Chris Leben and Cung Le (later cleared) are all fighters with failed steroid tests (aside from the otherwise stated) that have fought Bisping over the years. When talking about his losses to Belfort and Sonnen, these were truly costly in his chances of a title fight at the time, making his run of victories in the UFC recently all the more impressive.
For the first time in five years, Bisping has strung together consecutive wins, racking up three straight including the biggest victory of his entire career. Facing former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in a thrilling February encounter, ‘The Count’ claimed the former pound-for-pound king’s scalp with the unanimous decision in London. Since then, with wins over Thales Leites and CB Dolloway in mind too, the talk has once again turned to the championship picture for Bisping.
With USADA (United States Anti Doping Agency) now keeping a close eye on the state of play in MMA and the UFC, we are seeing fighters finally breaking through in multiple divisions. Is this just a case of co-incidence? Perhaps, or maybe with less enhancements for certain fighters in training we are just seeing the true cream starting to rise to the top.
Which brings us to the subject of Yoel Romero and Lyoto Machida…
The return of Jon Jones is nearly upon us. As the pound-for-pound best mixed martial artist in the game today, Jones possesses an uncanny ability to make fans wants to witness his excellence. Except for past run ins with the law and personal decisions that many of us would deem irresponsible acts of immaturity, the
As the pound-for-pound best mixed martial artist in the game today, Jones possesses an uncanny ability to make fans wants to witness his excellence. Except for past run ins with the law and personal decisions that many of us would deem irresponsible acts of immaturity, the former light heavyweight king has forged undeniable greatness over the past five years.
On the heels of his Octagon comeback this weekend against a dangerously underrated and super athletic Ovince Saint Preux at UFC 197, we take a look back at the times that have made Jones the legendary mixed martial arts (MMA) character that he is today.
Here are the nine most memorable, remarkable, illustrious moments in the career of the 28-year-old phenom from Rochester, New York.
‘Hendo’ then went on to discuss his previously scheduled opponent in Lyoto Machida, who was force out of the bout after testing positive for a banned substance:
