Lyoto Machida suspended 18 months for USADA doping violation Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida has been suspended 18 months for accepting a USADA doping violation. Officials announced the suspension, which is retroactive to April 8th this year. USADA released the following statement.
“USADA announced today that UFC athlete, Lyoto Machida, of Salvador, Brazil, has accepted an 18-month sanction for an anti-doping policy violation after declaring the use of a prohibited substance and subsequently testing positive for the use of that substance. During an out-of-competition test conducted on April 8, 2016, Machida, 38, declared the use of a product containing 7‐keto-dehydroepiandrosterone (7‐keto‐DHEA) on his sample collection paperwork. 7‐keto‐DHEA is a prohibited substance in the class of Anabolic Agents and prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, which has adopted the WADA Prohibited List. Upon notice from USADA of his potential violation, Machida immediately confirmed his use of the product, which listed 7-keto-DHEA as an ingredient, and fully cooperated with the subsequent investigation after advising USADA that he did not realize 7-keto-DHEA was a prohibited substance when he used the product. Machida’s sample was analyzed at a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited laboratory and reported to USADA for an elevated 7β-hydroxy-DHEA to DHEA ratio, which is consistent with his declared use of a prohibited substance. Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, as well as the World Anti-Doping Code, an athlete’s period of ineligibility for using a prohibited substance may be decreased depending on the athlete’s level of fault for the anti-doping policy violation. The UFC Anti-Doping Policy further provides that the prompt admission of an anti-doping policy violation may also be considered a mitigating factor in determining an appropriate sanction. Here, based on the circumstances of Machida’s violation, USADA determined that a reduction to 18-months from the standard two-year period of ineligibility was justified.”
Machida’s 18-month period of ineligibility began on April 8, 2016, the date his positive sample was collected and he declared his use of a prohibited substance. Machida (22-7) was removed from his UFC on FOX 19 bout against Dan Henderson after he was flagged for a failed drug test. He last competed against Yoel Romero at UFC Fight Night 70 in June 2015, where he suffered a knockout loss. Lou Giordano talks Kevin Lee, working a full camp w/ Anthony Pettis & Johnny Hendricks
