USADA has created something of a new obstacle for regional MMA talent looking to jump to the UFC. Since the world’s largest MMA promotion partnered with the drug testing agency back in 2015, new incoming fighters have run up against the program with some regularity.
Emil Weber Meek notably delayed his debut with the UFC in order to ensure his compliance with their drug testing regimen. While fighters like Carlos Felipe, Nick Roehrick, Adam Hunter, Lyman Good, Felipe Olivieri, Abdul-Kerim Edilov, and Jesse Taylor have all ended up on the wrong side of suspensions before they were even able to string two fights together in the Octagon.
The latest fighter to make that inglorious list is Russian light heavyweight Azamat Murzakanov. Murzakanov was signed to the promotion back in May of 2017, with the expectation of facing Joachim Christensen at UFC Oklahoma City in June. He was eventually forced off the card due to injury and replaced by Dominick Reyes.
Today the UFC announced via press release that they had been notified that the K-Dojo Warrior Tribe fighter had failed a September 2nd out-of-competition drug test. No word yet what substance was flagged in the drug test failure, or what the result will mean in terms of delaying Murzakanov’s debut.
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