Last year, former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum tested positive for the anabolic steroid Trenbolone and was suspended two years by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

“Werdum, 41, tested positive for trenbolone and its metabolite epitrenbolone following an out-of-competition urine test conducted on April 25, 2018,” a USADA statement issued at the time explained. “Trenbolone is a non-Specified Substance in the class of Anabolic Agents and prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, which has adopted the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List.

“Werdum’s two-year period of ineligibility, the standard sanction for a first offense involving a non-Specified Substance, began on May 22, 2018, the date his provisional suspension was imposed.”

While Fabricio Werdum is not eligible to compete until May of 2020, his manager Ali Abdelaziz claims he will soon re-enter the USADA testing pool. Next week, to be exact.

“Fabricio is going to come back and be a top-five heavyweight in the world,” Ali Abdelaziz told MMA Junkie recently (transcript via MMA News). “He’s training. He’s doing everything right.”

Abdelaziz also reaffirmed his belief that Werdum did not intentionally cheat, instead attributing the violation to “the system.”

“I believe he did not cheat at all, but the system got us,” he said. “But it’s okay. He has one more year, and he’ll be back in the cage.”

Fabricio Werdum last fought in March of 2017, when he was knocked out by former Bellator champion Alexander Volkov. This victory was preceded by a pair of wins over Marcin Tybura and Walt Harris, and a close decision loss to Alistair Overeem.

He captured the title with a June 2015 submission of Cain Velasquez, and lost it when he was knocked out by Stipe Miocic in May of 2016.

The former UFC heavyweight champion is 23–8–1 overall.

How do you think Fabricio Werdum will look when he returns to the Octagon in early 2020?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 5/15/2019.