Published anti-doping rulings against UFC athletes from USADA and Combat Sports Anti-Doping, including the substance involved and the period of ineligibility served.
These are disciplinary findings under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy. They are distinct from the routine post-fight medical suspensions listed elsewhere in this section, which imply no wrongdoing.
This page reproduces publicly reported regulatory and medical-administrative records. Every entry names the body that issued it. Anti-doping testing entries are counts of publicly reported test sessions and are not pass/fail results — a test session is not a positive test. Records are reproduced as published and are not medical advice.
USADA announced today that Yair Rodriguez, of Chihuahua, Mexico, has accepted a six-month sanction for a violation of the UFC ® Anti-Doping Policy resulting from three Whereabouts Failures during a 12-month period.
USADA announced today that Raphael Pessoa Nunes, of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has accepted a one-year sanction for a violation of the UFC ® Anti-Doping Policy.
Date
23 November 2020
Status
Suspended / sanctioned
Substance
hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) and its metabolites chlorothiazide and 4-amino-6-chloro-1,3-benzenedisulfonamide (ACB)
USADA announced today that an independent arbitrator has rendered a decision in the case of UFC ® athlete Gilbert Melendez, of Brisbane, Calif., and determined that Melendez should receive a two-year period of ineligibility for his anti-doping policy violation, precluding him from competing in any UFC bouts. This decision comes after the facts of the case were presented and argued.
Date
27 July 2020
Status
Suspended / sanctioned
Substance
GHRP-6 and its metabolites GHRP-6(2-5)-OH and GHRP-6(2-6)-OH
USADA announced today that Rachael Ostovich-Berdon, of Waianae, Hawaii, has accepted a one-year sanction for her violation of the UFC ® Anti-Doping Policy (UFC ADP) but has received a four-month credit to her sanction due to time served under a provisional suspension in the latter half of 2019 for an atypical finding that was being investigated by USADA and which did not result in a sanction once the 2019 UFC ADP was announced, making her total period of ineligibility eight months.
Date
18 June 2020
Status
Suspended / sanctioned
Substance
ostarine and GW1516 (also known as GW-501516) metabolites GW1516 sulfone and GW1516 sulfoxide
USADA announced today that Kelvin Gastelum, of Huntington Beach, Calif., has accepted a nine-month sanction for his second violation of the UFC ® Anti-Doping Policy (UFC APD) and received a five-month reduction to his sanction following the successful completion of a drug treatment program.
Date
11 May 2020
Status
Suspended / sanctioned
Substance
11-nor-9-carboxy-tetrahydrocannabinol (Carboxy-THC) over the Decision Limit of 180 ng/mL, a urinary metabolite of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive constituent of cannabis, marijuana, and/or hashish
Suspension length
9 months
Sample collected
3 November 2019
Period start
3 November 2019
Period end
3 August 2020
Issuing body
U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA)
Issued by: U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA)
Paulo Costa — Anti-doping suspension / ineligibility
Anti-doping sanction
USADA announced today that Dr. Lucas Penchel, of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, has accepted a two-year sanction for a violation of the UFC ® Anti-Doping Policy (UFC ADP) resulting from his complicity in the administration and use of over-limit intravenous (IV) infusions of permitted substances on June 2, 2017 and November 3, 2017 by Carlos Costa and Paulo Costa, respectively.
USADA announced today that Michel Prazeres of Belém, Brazil, has accepted a two-year sanction for a violation of the UFC ® Anti-Doping Policy after testing positive for a prohibited substance.
Date
11 February 2020
Status
Suspended / sanctioned
Substance
exogenous boldenone and its metabolite 5β-androst-1-en-17β-ol-3-one
Suspension length
2 years
Sample collected
9 March 2019
Period start
9 March 2019
Period end
9 March 2021
Issuing body
U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA)
Issued by: U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA)
Diego Sanchez — Anti-doping suspension / ineligibility
Anti-doping sanction
USADA announced today that Diego Sanchez, of Albuquerque, N.M., has accepted a three-month sanction for a violation of the UFC ® Anti-Doping Policy after testing positive for prohibited substances.
USADA announced today that Fabricio Werdum, of Redondo Beach, Calif., was granted a 10-month reduction in his original two-year suspension. Werdum’s period of ineligibility began on May 22, 2018 but was tolled for a period of time while he was not available for testing and retired. After being reinstated, and with his reduction, his new period of ineligibility is set to expire on April 1, 2020.
Date
16 January 2020
Status
Suspended / sanctioned
Substance
trenbolone and its metabolite epitrenbolone
Suspension length
Original 2 years; reduced by 10 months
Period start
22 May 2018
Period end
1 April 2020
Issuing body
U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA)
Issued by: U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA)
Sean O'Malley — Anti-doping suspension / ineligibility
Anti-doping sanction
USADA announced today that Sean O’Malley, of Phoenix, Ariz., has tested positive for a prohibited substance and accepted a reduced six-month sanction, consistent with other supplement contamination cases, for his second anti-doping policy violation.
USADA announced today that Dequan Townsend, of Lansing, Mich., has accepted a six-month sanction for a violation of the UFC ® Anti-Doping Policy after testing positive for prohibited substances. Townsend’s reduced period of ineligibility from the default two-year sanction remains contingent upon his successful completion of a USADA approved drug rehabilitation program.
Date
8 January 2020
Status
Suspended / sanctioned
Substance
benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine, and norfentanyl, a metabolite of fentanyl and its derivatives