Brazilian heavyweight Carlos Felipe is out of the UFC after yet another anti-doping violation.
Felipe tested positive for the steroid Boldenone following his UFC Vegas 40 co-main event loss to former champion Andrei Arlovski last October. The 18-month suspension was announced by the Nevada Athletic Commission back in January, and instead of having Felipe sit on the shelf through 2023, the UFC opted to just cut ties.
“We’ll wait for the suspension to be over so we can compete again, get some wins together and return to the UFC,” Felipe’s manager Leonardo Pateira told MMA Fighting. “Because the UFC has indicated that there’s a chance he’ll be called again after one or two wins. The UFC is our only focus, so we’ll do as they say.”
The 27-year-old signed with the UFC way back in 2017, but he didn’t make his Octagon debut until 2020 after he tested positive for stanozolol in an out-of-competition sample. USADA handed him a two-year ban for that infraction.
Upon his return, Felipe (11-3) dropped his first UFC fight against Sergey Spivak by majority decision. Three straight wins followed against Yorgan De Castro, Justin Tafa, and Jake Collier before the defeat against Arlovski.
It should be noted that Felipe didn’t fail the USADA tests for the Arlovski fight, so at the moment this suspension is only from Nevada and not USADA, who could’ve given him four years for a second violation.
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