Brock Lesnar’s victory over Mark Hunt at UFC 200 didn’t make it a week before USADA dropped the bad news. In a statement released on Friday, the UFC revealed that Lesnar has been flagged for a potential USADA violation. Here’s the statement in its entirety, noting that the sample in question was taken prior to UFC 200.
“The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Brock Lesnar of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection on June 28, 2016. USADA received the testing results from the June 28, 2016 sample collection from the WADA-accredited UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory on the evening of July 14, 2016.
“USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case. It is important to note that, under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full fair legal review process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed. The Nevada State Athletic Commission also retains jurisdiction over this matter as the sample collection was performed in close proximity to Lesnar’s bout at UFC 200 in Las Vegas.
“Consistent with all previous potential anti-doping violations, additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.”
There’s no word yet on what Lesnar tested positive for.
Lesnar defeated Mark Hunt by unanimous decision in the UFC 200 co-main event, giving him his first victory since submitting Shane Carwin in 2010. Prior to the fight, Lesnar was granted a waiver by the UFC to exclude him from the mandatory four-month testing period for former fighters returning to the promotion. For what it’s worth, USADA’s database says that Lesnar has been drug tested a whopping 8 times since he enrolled in the anti-doping program in June.
Per USADA rules, Lesnar can potentially be disqualified and have his win vs. Hunt overturned to a loss, which is what they did when Gleison Tibau failed an out-of-competition (and later an in-competition) drug test against Abel Trujillo last year.
ARTICLE 10 SANCTIONS ON INDIVIDUALS
10.1 Disqualification of Results for an Anti-Doping Policy Violation in
Connection with a BoutAn Anti-Doping Policy Violation occurring during, or in connection with, a Bout
may, upon the decision of UFC, lead to Disqualification of all of the Athlete’s
results obtained in that Bout with all Consequences, including, without
limitation, forfeiture of title, ranking, purse or other compensation, except as
provided in Article 10.1.1.
Factors to be included in considering whether to Disqualify an Athlete’s results
might include, for example, the seriousness of the Athlete’s Anti-Doping Policy
Violation and the Athlete’s degree of Fault.
10.1.1 If the Athlete establishes that he or she bears No Fault or
Negligence for the violation, the Athlete’s results in the Bout shall not
be Disqualified, unless the Athlete’s results were likely to have been
affected by the Athlete’s Anti-Doping Policy Violation.
Lesnar is scheduled to compete on the WWE’s SummerSlam event in Brooklyn on August 21st. There’s no official word on how that could potentially impact Lesnar’s status on the card. Lesnar is also still under UFC contract and otherwise is still subject to USADA testing.
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