WELP. USADA is certainly making themselves heard in the weird and wonderful world of the UFC.
It’s only been a year since the MMA giant contracted the United States’ chief anti-doping authority to run their drug testing regime, but already the board has scored themselves two high-profile cases in Jon Jones and Brock Lesnar, and now they’ve brought their banhammer down on a contracted fighter for the first time.
Featherweight Chad Mendes has been smacked with a full two-year ban after he lit up an out-of-competition drug test back in May.
The sample, taken on May 17, returned a positive result for GHRP-6, a synthetic peptide that encourages the body to increase growth hormone production. WADA, of which USADA is a signatory, bans the drug for all athletes on a year-round basis.
Mendes began a provisional suspension when his notice was served on June 10th, and his 2-year suspension will be backdated accordingly. At the time, Mendes issued a short statement owning up to the error (a big one).
I didn’t do my homework and that was a big mistake. I own it and I’m going to pay for it.
— chad mendes (@chadmendes) June 18, 2016
Mendes most recently fought back in December in a losing effort against Frankie Edgar in the finale of ‘The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs Team Faber.’ He also famously stepped in to take on Conor McGregor at UFC 189 as a last-minute replacement for José Aldo. The 31-year-old sports a career record of 17-7.
Both Mendes and the UFC are yet to comment on the suspension.
Source: MMAJunkie.
Photo: Brandon Magnus, Zuffa LLC/Getty.
