Tag: USADA

Yet Another UFC Fighter Flagged For ‘Potential’ USADA Violation

It was expected that several fighters would be flagged for anti-doping violations when the UFC partnered with USADA to implement new and increased random drug testing fighters this year, and indeed that obvious prediction has come true. Another fighter was added to the growing list of competitors flagged for ‘potential’ USADA violations today when Carlos

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It was expected that several fighters would be flagged for anti-doping violations when the UFC partnered with USADA to implement new and increased random drug testing fighters this year, and indeed that obvious prediction has come true.

Another fighter was added to the growing list of competitors flagged for ‘potential’ USADA violations today when Carlos Diego Ferreira was provisionally suspended and removed from his bout against Abel Trujillo at May 29’s UFC Fight Night 88 for a potential violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample.

The UFC released a statement on Diego Ferreira on their official website:

“The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) informed Carlos Diego Ferreira of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation, stemming from a recent out-of-competition sample collection. In accordance with the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, Ferreira has received a provisional suspension, and has been removed from his scheduled bout against Abel Trujillo on May 29 in Las Vegas.

USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case. It is important to note that, under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full and fair review process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed.

UFC will announce a replacement opponent for Trujillo shortly, while additional violation information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.”

Diego Ferreira was last seen defeating Olivier Aubin-Mercier at January’s UFC on FOX 18 from New Jersey, which snapped a two-fight losing streak to top contenders Dustin Poirier and Beneil Dariush.

Prior to the losses, Diego Ferreira had stormed into the UFC with bonus-winning finishes of Colton Smith and Ramsey Nijem in 2014. He currently sits with a 3-2 record in the UFC, although it could be quite a while before we see him fight in the octagon again.

The exact substance or substances that prompted his potential violation were not released as of right now.

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Read Lyoto Machida’s Apology For USADA Violation

In this day and age where the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) oversees the UFC’s drug testing strategies, it seems as if drug test failures are coming every other week. The latest was a bit of a surprise, however. It was reported earlier today (April 13, 2016) that long-time veteran and former light heavyweight champion

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In this day and age where the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) oversees the UFC’s drug testing strategies, it seems as if drug test failures are coming every other week.

The latest was a bit of a surprise, however.

It was reported earlier today (April 13, 2016) that long-time veteran and former light heavyweight champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida had admitted to using a banned substance ahead of his scheduled UFC on FOX 19 (April 16, 2016) rematch with Dan “Hendo” Henderson from Tampa, Florida.

As a result, the UFC has pulled him from the card, and Machida will likely face consequences after further details are provided by USADA.

In the wake of the news, Machida took to his official Facebook page to explain himself, apologizing to his fans, and noting that he didn’t know that the substance had been banned:

Are you buying Machida’s explanation, and what type of punishment do you expect to be given to “The Dragon”?

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Frank Mir Informed Of Potential USADA Anti-Doping Violation

Another day, another fighter flagged for a potential violation of the UFC’s new and increased drug testing program led by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Word came tonight (Fri., April 8, 2015) that two-time former UFC heavyweight Frank Mir was notified of a potential anti-doping violation stemming from his knockout loss to Mark Hunt

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Another day, another fighter flagged for a potential violation of the UFC’s new and increased drug testing program led by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

Word came tonight (Fri., April 8, 2015) that two-time former UFC heavyweight Frank Mir was notified of a potential anti-doping violation stemming from his knockout loss to Mark Hunt i the main event of UFC Fight Night 85 on March 20, 2016 from Brisbane, Australia.

The UFC released the following statement via its website:

The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Frank Mir of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an in-competition sample collected the day of his fight on March 20, 2016 in Brisbane, Australia.

USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Mir. It is important to note that, under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full and fair legal process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed.

Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.

Exactly which banned substance Mir potentially tested positive for has not been made public at this time. He will of course have an opportunity to appeal the violation and any subsequent punishment.

If he does receive a lengthy suspension, however, it could spell the end of an extremely decorated run for Mir, who has lost six out of his last eight UFC fights after ‘The Super Samoan’ knocked him out in the first round in Brisbane. Mir had previously lost four straight in early 2014, but rebounded after a yearlong layoff to top Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and Todd Duffee to resurrect his career.

Two consecutive losses and the potential violation have seemingly put at least a temporary halt to that. If Mir does indeed decide to hang up his gloves, he’ll retire as arguably the most decorated heavyweight in UFC history, owning the division records for most wins, most fights, and most finishes.

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Hector Lombard Moves Back To Middleweight: My Body Stopped Functioning

It sounds like Hector Lombard will exit the UFC welterweight division without getting the title shot many predicted him to when he moved down to the division in 2013. The hulking 5’9″ former Bellator middleweight champion experienced a controversial loss to Neil Magny at last weekend’s UFC Fight Night 85 from Brisbane, Australia, a fight where

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It sounds like Hector Lombard will exit the UFC welterweight division without getting the title shot many predicted him to when he moved down to the division in 2013.

The hulking 5’9″ former Bellator middleweight champion experienced a controversial loss to Neil Magny at last weekend’s UFC Fight Night 85 from Brisbane, Australia, a fight where Lombard had his rising opponent in bad shape in the first round only to gas and suffer an absolutely brutal ground and pound beating that was finally stopped (and much to late, according to many onlookers).

In response to his body failing him, Lombard announced on Instagram today (Sun. March 27, 2016) that he was excited to be moving back to his original weight class, because the recent USADA ban on IV rehydration has made the weight cut too taxing:

“I asked my body to perform, but I got no reply. When your body says no and stops functioning there is nothing you can do about it. I’m very happy to be back fighting at my original weight 185. Now with no IV allowed, I will be able to fight in a healthier weight for me.”

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It’s a move that makes sense for Lombard, who undoubtedly will find it helpful to no longer drain himself to levels that only give him one good round (or possibly less) of full exertion. Many fighters have benefited from moves up in weight class and found success, most notably Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.

And with IVs no longer allowed after the UFC began increased random testing run by USADA last July, avoiding the dangerous drop in weight is too rough for the 38-year-old “Showeather.”

Of course, he was also coming off of a suspension for performance-enhancing drug use during his UFC 183 win over Josh Burkman, which was changed to a no contest. He then suffered his first-ever stoppage loss to Magny, putting his record at 0-1(1) in his two last fights after he was thought to be a future title contender at 170 pounds.

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With a decent body of accomplishment but an overall failure to capitalize on the big hype he brought to the UFC in 2012, time could be running out on the Cuban-Australian Lombard’s prime fighting years. His overall UFC record is a lackluster 3-3(1), hardly up to the expectations heaped upon him when he signed for big money after leaving the Bellator title behind.

The good news is he’ll regain a decent amount of his thunderous knockout power without the weight cut, and he should also be able to press the action for more than a round, too.

The bad news (and it’s not all that bad)?

He’ll be jumping right into the middleweight shark tank where bigger fighters await him in a host of potentially exciting match-ups. Who should he fight first back at 185?

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Conor McGregor Reacts To Nate Diaz’ Steroid Accusations: That Was Your Team

UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor and his new opponent for March 5’s UFC 196, the polarizing Nate Diaz, met up for a pre-fight press conference earlier today (Wed., February 24, 2016), and not surprisingly, the results produced some noteworthy fireworks. Much of that came in the form of Diaz’ suggestion that the entire UFC, including

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UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor and his new opponent for March 5’s UFC 196, the polarizing Nate Diaz, met up for a pre-fight press conference earlier today (Wed., February 24, 2016), and not surprisingly, the results produced some noteworthy fireworks.

Much of that came in the form of Diaz’ suggestion that the entire UFC, including ‘Notorious,’ is on steroids, a concern they’ve no doubt had to deal with in full force when a series of drug test failures left them no choice but to enact new and stringent testing policies in conjunction with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

But regardless of the testing protocol in place, Diaz still thinks all of the major fighters are using:

“They’re all on steroids. They’re all on steroids. Everybody.”

With the original question about the weight of the fight, which will be contested two weight classes up from McGregor’s normal featherweight, ‘Mystic mac’ used the stage to forcefully reply to Diaz’ accusations:

“I don’t care about weight. Steroids? What you talking about, steroids? Don’t be putting my name in with steroids. Don’t put my name in the name of steroids, Nate. The only weight I give a fuck about is the weight of them checks, and my checks are always super heavyweight, so I don’t give a shit.”

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McGregor then referred back to Diaz’ profanity-filled callout of McGregor following his win over Michael Johnson at UFC on FOX 17, noting that he hasn’t ‘taken what Diaz has worked for’ and has worked hard for everything he’s earned in the fight game:

“He talks like I took something from him; that’s what he said after the fight, ‘I’ve taken everything he’s worked for.’ I work like a motherfucker. I don’t get out of shape; he gets out of shape. His fight against dos Anjos, he looked like the skinniest fat guy I’ve ever seen in my life. The last fight he came in in shape. This time now the fact that he’s asking for weight changes all the time, I’d imagine he probably got out of shape again, so I took none from him, I work hard. I work hard, and that’s it.”

While there isn’t much doubt that Diaz was definitely out of shape when he lost a one-sided decision to the lightweight champ back at UFC on FOX 13, Diaz didn’t seem to care about the criticism. Instead, he stuck to his initial stance that the entirety of the UFC was on PEDs:

“Everybody’s on steroids, the whole UFC, everybody.”

McGregor was visibly upset when that came out, and he had a stinging reply ready to go. Read on to the next page to find out what ‘The Notorious’ came back at Diaz with….

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Yoel Romero Did Not Fail Drug Test For Steroids, Report Says

An interesting twist in the case of former Olympian and UFC middleweight title contender Yoel Romero, as it looks like he did not have the ‘designer steroid’ in his system during his USADA test… UFC midleweight contender Yoel Romero completed his rise to the top of the division with his split decision win over Jacare

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An interesting twist in the case of former Olympian and UFC middleweight title contender Yoel Romero, as it looks like he did not have the ‘designer steroid’ in his system during his USADA test…

UFC midleweight contender Yoel Romero completed his rise to the top of the division with his split decision win over Jacare Souza at UFC 195, earning his shot at the middleweight champion Luke Rockhold. It would’ve been a great fight to see, especially after ‘Rocky’ smashed Chris Weidman with a brutal TKO at UFC 194, but the match was far from booked. As you can probably tell by the rematch between Rockhold and Weidman already being booked for UFC 199, things went very sour for ‘Soldier of God.’

USADA (United States Anti Doping Agency) announced that Romero had violated their new anti-doping policy, in layman’s terms he’d failed a drug test. Then report, from allegedly veritable sources, began pouring out across the internet and were consumed by the eyeballs and ears of MMA fans around the world; Romero had popped for a designer steroid, the reports said, but now there’s an update to this scenario.

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After Romero’s team recently insisted that the failure was due to an undisclosed substance found in an over-the-counter legal training supplement, the mixed martial arts community pretty much wrote the statement off as another cheater’s excuse. Compounded with his stool gate controversy and numerous accusations of sly tactics, Romero’s reputation began to take a slating. Well, according to a report by ENT Imports, USADA have followed up Romero’s claim and also verified it. Check out the update:

According to our undisclosed sources, Yoel was unaware there were any banned substances in his dietary supplement and they were not listed on the label. USADA independently bought and tested the product that foiled Yoel’s clean drug testing record and found the diuretic in it.

Entimports.com first broke the news on twitter:

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So, has the MMA world once again jumped the gun without having all the information about a case? Perhaps, but we’ll have to wait for the entire story to be confirmed either way, but let’s hope for the division’s sake that this is a mistake.

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