Yesterday the UFC drug testing partners at USADA announced that two athletes signed to The Ultimate Fighting Championship had been flagged for potential doping violations.
Most notably, former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has failed a drug test for the second time in his UFC career.
The other USADA violation came in the form of Grant Dawson, a one fight UFC veteran
Now, in typical fashion the UFC has released statements on the two failed drug tests.
Here’s the UFC’s official statements on yesterday’s incidents:
Anderson Silva:
The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Anderson Silva of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collected on October 26, 2017. As a result, Silva has been provisionally suspended by USADA. Due to the proximity of Silva’s upcoming scheduled bout at UFC Fight Night, Shanghai, China on November 25, 2017 against Kelvin Gastelum, Silva has been removed from the card and UFC is currently seeking a replacement.
USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Silva. 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.
Grant Dawson:
The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Grant Dawson of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collected on October 18, 2017.
USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Dawson. 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.
As of the time of this publication, neither fighter has released a statement.
