Earlier today, we learned that former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum is the latest fighter to be notified of a potential anti-doping violation by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
“The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Fabricio Werdum of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collected on April 25, 2018,” a UFC statement on the matter read.
USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Werdum. Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full and fair legal process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed. Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.”
Shortly after this unfortunate news broke, Werdum took to social media to issue a statement on the situation. The former heavyweight champion assures this is a misunderstanding, and is optimistic it will all be worked out.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjGUJmCBXEJ/
“Hey guys, I got up this morning to the news that one of my urine samples from April tested positive for a prohibited substance,” Werdum said in the English segment of his post. “I am working with my team, the UFC and USADA to understand what happened. I’ve always been careful with everything I take and I’ve always been supportive of a clean sport. We will work hard to solve this misunderstanding and I hope to be able to go back to the octagon and what I love.”
The timing of Werdum’s brush with USADA is undeniably unfortunate, as he was just yesterday linked to a fight with fellow grappling ace Alexey Oleynik. The pair’s heavyweight showdown was expected to headlined the UFC’s September 15 in Moscow, Russia — the promotion’s first stop in the country.
What do you make of this unfortunate Fabricio Werdum situation?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 5/22/2018.