Up until this point, the UFC’s drug testing initiative with USADA has yielded only male violators, but, now we have a female.
UFC strawweight Jessica Penne has been flagged for a potential doping violation. The violation comes on the heels of her biological passport review. Meaning, USADA apparently caught her on a re-testing of prior samples with new technology.
The UFC announced the news via a press release:
The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Jessica Penne of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collected on March 20, 2017. Penne’s sample, having undergone the standard out-competition analysis menu, was initially reported to USADA as negative. However, upon review of Penne’s Athlete Biological Passport, the sample was subsequently flagged for additional analysis due to an increased degree of variability in urinary biomarkers measured in the sample. As a result of that further analysis, the presence of a prohibited substance was detected. Before the reanalysis was completed, Penne fought at the UFC Fight Night event in Nashville on April 22, 2017.
USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Penne. 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. Because the Tennessee Athletic Commission was the regulatory body overseeing the fight in Nashville, USADA will also work to ensure that the Commission has the necessary information to determine its proper judgment of Penne’s potential anti-doping violation. Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.
