Brock Lesnar handed 1-year ban by USADA
If Brock Lesnar wants to compete in mixed martial arts again, he’ll have to wait until at least July.
The professional wrestling star and former UFC heavyweight champion received the maximum one-year suspension from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for two positive tests around the time of his return last year.
Lesnar’s sanction was announced Wednesday and will prevent him from fighting until at least July 15.
The 39-year-old former NCAA wrestling champion came out of retirement to fight Mark Hunt at UFC 200 on July 9 at T-Mobile Arena. He failed an out-of-competition test June 28 and a fight-night test for clomiphene and its metabolite.
According to USADA, clomiphene is a prohibited substance in the category of Hormone and Metabolic Modulators and is prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, which has adopted the WADA Prohibited List.
The positive tests were returned from the lab July 15 and a provisional suspension went into effect. Lesnar’s one-year ban is retroactive to that day.
He received the same one-year suspension from the Nevada Athletic Commission. Those bans can be served concurrently. He also received a $250,000 fine by the NAC and had his decision victory overturned to a no contest.
Lesnar had retired from the UFC in 2011. He received an exemption from a rule that requires retired athletes to re-enter the testing pool at least four months before their return from competition. He did not enter the random testing pool until about a month before his fight against Hunt.
According to a news release from USADA, suspended fighters are required to remain in the testing pool during the time of their ban. Should a fighter choose to retire and withdraw from the testing pool, the suspension would be frozen.
USADA is the independent administrator of the UFC’s anti-doping policy.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.