The UFC today announced that Alex Caceres tested positive for marijuana metabolites following his UFC on FUEL TV 8 victory over Kyung Ho Kang. As a result of the infraction, Caceres has been suspended for six months and forced to attend rehabilitation classes before he’s reinstated to the active roster. As well, he will need to pass a drug test before he returns to the Octagon. Finally, his win over Kang has been overturned to a No Contest. Riki Fukuda, on the other hand, tested positive for three illegal banned stimulants following his UFC on FUEL TV 8 loss to Brad Tavares and was immediately released from the UFC. Fukuda had an overall record of 2-3 in the UFC, although it should be noted one of those losses was a controversial decision defeat to Nick Ring at UFC 127, a fight that he should have won and a fight which the UFC decided to pay him a win bonus for because the judges’ decision was so poor. The UFC handled all the testing — as they always do when they travel to an area where there is no athletic commission present — as the event took place in Saitama, Japan. In recent months, the UFC has done their own testing in Australia, England, Japan and China, and has caught Caceres, Fukuda, Thiago Silva, Matt Riddle, Rousimar Palhares and Joey Beltran with banned substances in their systems. The drug suspensions to Caceres and Fukuda once again demonstrate that it doesn’t pay to cheat in the sport of MMA because you’re likely going to be caught and the resulting penalties can jeopardize your career. Prindle/Rogers Scratched From Bellator 93 The heavyweight matchup between Eric Prindle and Brett Rogers, which was set to take place on Thursday night’s Bellator 93 card, has been scratched after Prindle was injured, although Bellator didn’t specify the nature of the injury. So, if you were planning on betting that fight, you will not not be able to. The fight was set to take place on the main card of Bellator 93, but without it Bellator will run with a three-fight main card with Dave Jansen vs. Marcin Held, Waachiim Spiritwolf vs. Marcus Davis, and Ryan Martinez vs. Travis Wiuff. Depending on how his undercard fight goes, British striker Michael Page could also end up filling some of the extra air time, especially if he scores another impressive stoppage. Arantes vs. Pepey Added to UFC on FUEL TV 10 Another fight has been added to the upcoming UFC on FUEL TV 10 card, as TATAME.com today reported a featherweight matchup between Felipe Arantes and Godofredo Pepey. Arantes (14-4-1) hasn’t competed since a draw to Milton Vieira last June at UFC 147, a fight which most media members scored in his favor. Pepey (9-1), on the other hand, is also coming off a controversial fight, albeit a split decision victory over Vieira at UFC on FX 7 in a fight which many scored for Vieira. Expect the fight to be close to a Pick ’em when the MMA odds for this event are released, with the slight lean to Arantes, who holds a notable victory over solid featherweight Antonio Carvalho.
