Former UFC heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos flagged by USADA
Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos has been pulled from his bout against Francis Ngannou because of a potential violation of the organization’s anti-doping policy.
A replacement opponent will be sought for Ngannou on the UFC 215 card Sept. 9 in Edmonton, Alberta.
UFC officials were notified Friday by USADA that an out-of-competition sample collected from dos Santos on Aug. 10 has been flagged.
“USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC anti-doping policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving dos Santos,” a statement from the organization read. “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.”
Dos Santos is coming off a knockout loss to heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in May.
Ngannou has won nine straight fights, including five since joining the UFC. He has finished his past three opponents in the first round.
UFC 215 will be headlined by a flyweight title bout between Ray Borg and champion Demetrious Johnson. Also on the card, Valentina Shevchenko will challenge Amanda Nunes for the women’s bantamweight title.
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Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.
