For the second time this year, BJJ ace Light Heavyweight Robert Drysdale was set to make his UFC debut at UFC 167. He was originally slated to face Ednaldo Oliveira at UFC 163 in August after going 6-0 in his career on the regional circuit. Unfortunately, a staph infection prevented him from fighting and he was rescheduled to face Cody Donovan at the November 16 event.
However, once again, Drysdale is being forced out of the fight. As originally reported by MMA Junkie, Drysdale failed a pre-licensure drug test and has been denied his license by the NSAC. His results showed an elevated Testosterone/Epitestosteron ratio of 19.4:1 which comes in well over 3 times the state’s limit of 6:1.
MMA Junkie also reported that Drysdale had filed a request for a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) prior to his originally scheduled fight at UFC 163:
Less than a month before his scheduled UFC debut at UFC 163 against Ednaldo Oliveira earlier this year, he submitted paperwork to obtain a therapeutic-use exemption (TUE) to undergo testosterone-replacement therapy (TRT), according to documents MMAjunkie.com obtained through a public records request.
On his application, which is dated July 8, 2013, the 32-year-old Drysdale stated the TUE request was his first. He certified that he hadn’t used or was currently using banned substances and had no previous positive tests. Also included in the paperwork was a letter from a Las Vegas-based anti-aging clinic, TrimBody M.D., that stated Drysdale was taking weekly testosterone injections at the clinic to treat hypogonadism.
Additionally, a blood exam from Clinical Pathology Laboratories showed Drysdale had a free testosterone level of 156 ng/mL, which was below the testing facility’s normal range of 292 ng/mL to 1052 ng/mL. He was within the laboratory’s normal range for follicle-stimulating hormone (6.0 mIU/mL) and luteinizing hormone (2.1 mIU/mL).
Drysdale was not granted the exemption according to NSAC director Keith Kizer and I’d say his UFC career is now in jeopardy. A staph infection or injury delaying a fight or even multiple fights is something the UFC will work with. It’s a much different story when it involves a controversial medical treatment and an inability to get licensed. I think it’s safe to say we won’t be seeing Drysdale in the Octagon any time soon.
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