On Friday, the UFC announced that former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos had potentially failed a drug test given to him by the U.S Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
As a result, Dos Santos has been removed from UFC 215 on Sept. 9. He was scheduled to fight heavyweight prospect Francis Ngannou.
After being notified that he had tested positive for a banned substance, Dos Santos’ team sent out a statement saying Dos Santos has never taken a performance-enhancing drug and has never knowingly taken a banned substance.
In their statement, Dos Santos’ team revealed what banned substance he tested positive for and shared their side of the story.
“Junior tested positive for a substance called Hydrochlorothiazite, which is a diuretic and is banned by USADA due to its use as a masking agent. We do not know where this substance came from. Junior has had his blood and urine randomly tested many times and has never once tested positive for a banned substance.
“We requested testing of his B sample today. Most times, the B sample will show the identical results as the A sample. Therefore, we are already working on analyzing his nutritional supplements and medications, to determine whether anything might have been contaminated. Jeff Novitzky and Donna Marcolini of the UFC have provided the guidance for this process, and we are grateful to them for their professionalism and competence.
“Junior remains committed to and supportive of USADA drug testing – even if he is bearing an unfortunate consequence of it. He spoke personally with Francis Ngannou and apologized for the unintended consequence to him. Junior thanks Francis for the sympathy, understanding, and respect that transpired during their call, and very much looks forward to resolving this situation so that he and Francis can set up a new date to face one another.”
Portion of a second statement from Junior dos Santos's management on USADA situation. pic.twitter.com/kKWTiQkgsq
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) August 19, 2017
