Bagautinov not tested ahead of UFC 192 despite yearlong suspension for EPO

Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Fresh of a yearlong suspension for performance enhancing substances, Ali Bagautinov is ironically one of the few fighters who have not been tested under the UFC’s new drug policy ahead of UFC 192.

“No testing has been done but I am ready anytime,” Bagautinov told MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani.

On July 10, 2014, the British Columbia Athletic Commission (BCAC) announced that Bagautinov tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO) prior to his title fight against Demetrious Johnson at UFC 174. The Russian flyweight admitted that the positive test was an undeniable blemish on his professional career.

“Personally, I was disappointed. I think everyone around me was disappointed. But I’m not the first and definitely won’t be the last. I will recover.”

However, when asked to explain the drug test result for EPO, Bagautinov was at a loss for words.

“I can’t really explain it. The test that was done after the fight came back negative. The one before the fight came back positive. I have no way of explaining that.”

The former title challenger is scheduled to meet Joseph Benavidez on the preliminary portion of UFC 192 from Houston.

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About the author

Karim Zidan

Karim Zidan is a investigative reporter and feature writer focusing on the intersection of sports and politics. He has written for BloodyElbow since 2014 and has served as an associate editor since 2016. He also writes for The New York Times and The Guardian. Karim has been invited to speak about his work at numerous universities, including Princeton, and was a panelist at the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival and the Oslo Freedom Forum. He also participated in the United Nations counter-terrorism conference in 2021. His reporting on Ramzan Kadyrov’s involvement in MMA, much of which was done for Bloody Elbow, has led to numerous award nominations, and was the basis of an award-winning HBO Real Sports documentary.