Junior dos Santos, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Marcos Rogerio de Lima have all received reduced USADA suspensions of just six months each after an investigation discovered they were unknowingly taking tainted supplements.
In August and September of last year, all three fighters were temporarily suspended after they tested positive for the banned diuretic hydrochlorothiazide.
USADA then undertook a thorough investigation that revealed two pharmacies in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo were selling tainted supplements, despite falsely claiming that they were clean and safe to use.
As such, the three fighters have avoided receiving lengthier suspensions, and given that their sentences were retroactive they are now free to return to action immediately.
Read UFC’s official statement on the matter below.
“USADA announced today that it has confirmed two compounding pharmacies in Brazil produced and sold contaminated supplements that led to the positive tests of three athletes subject to the UFC Anti-Doping Policy.
Unlike retail pharmacies and drugstores, which receive their drug inventories from commercial manufacturers, compounding pharmacies prepare their medications onsite according to specifications contained in a written prescription. In addition to medications, both compounding pharmacies investigated by USADA also produced and sold nutritional supplements, and marketed their products as a safe alternative to mass produced medications and supplements. The pharmacies also claimed to utilize manufacturing processes designed to eliminate the possibility of cross-contamination.
Despite their claims, the compounding pharmacies, located in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, Brazil, sold contaminated supplements to Junior dos Santos Almeida and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, who each tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide, and Marcos Rogerio de Lima, who tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide and anastrozole. These substances are prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, which has adopted the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List.
After testing supplements the athletes provided to USADA, the WADA-accredited laboratory in Salt Lake City confirmed the presence of multiple prohibited substances in the products. Through an ongoing investigation, USADA independently sourced supplements from the compounding pharmacies, which the Salt Lake City laboratory confirmed were also contaminated with hydrochlorothiazide, anastrozole, and several additional prohibited substances. Autoridade Brasileira de Controle de Dopagem (the Brazilian national anti-doping agency) and law enforcement agencies in Brazil assisted USADA’s investigation.
