After losing his second fight with Stipe Miocic, Junior dos Santos was eager to step into the Octagon with rising star Francis Ngannou in his journey back to a title fight. Unfortunately, he became one of the victims of USADA. He was notified of a potential anti-doping violation and pulled out of the card. Eventually, Ngannou found an opponent later for UFC 218, but dos Santos is stuck on the sidelines. He recently opened up about the process and how it’s been so devastating for him.

“At first I was devastated. I’ve been in favor of USADA, I’ve always said how much I support it, how much I want a drugless sport, a fair sport. I’ve always been clean, so my mind is at ease. Everything is under investigation, now, but that’s another problem, because I have no idea where this came from and it’s up to me to prove my innocence and that’s kind of weird. At first I used to think ‘Why is USADA there? For cheaters or for the ones who play by the rules end up as victims?’ I’m obviously a victim of a situation that I don’t what it is.”

Guys, I want you to know that I’m going through a situation I’ve never imagine I would. Be patient and I’ll answer all your questions Thanks

— Junior Dos Santos (@junior_cigano) September 9, 2017

“I’m getting major support from USADA and from the UFC in my search for answers. This not knowing is absurd, it eats you up inside, it’s like tearing your soul apart. I’ve always been very vocal about all this, but now the only thing I ask myself is if USADA is there for cheaters or for innocent people who end up in this situation. […] I thought it was a prank, I couldn’t believe it. I talked to my wife and she told me USADA had notified me. I said ‘For the love of God, it can’t be possible. What could I test positive for?’ I called up the UFC people the following day and they told me it was a diuretic. It was such a small amount of it, it couldn’t even act as a diuretic in my system. It even took me a while to urinate on the day I had to take the test, so it wasn’t acting as a diuretic that day.” — Junior dos Santos speaking to Combate. 

Junior dos Santos had tested positive for the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide and believes he’s innocent. It will be interesting to see how the situation plays out, along with Jon Jones’ case as well. Dos Santos and Miocic are now one-and-one in their fights, so hopefully one day they can finish out their trilogy together. Junior dos Santos still stands by his stance as a supporter of USADA, despite feeling like he has been wrongfully accused. 

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 10/13/2017.