Brock Lesnar Has Been Flagged For Violating UFC Doping Policy
At UFC 200, Brock Lesnar fought and defeated Mark Hunt over three rounds. It was a dominant performance by Lesnar in his return to the Octagon after five years away from UFC. Since his victory at UFC 200, there has been a lot of speculation about Lesnar making a full-time return to UFC as the eighth-ranked heavyweight fighter in the world.
However, all of Brock Lesnar’s recent success in UFC may be kaput. According to a report from FOX Sports, Brock Lesnar is officially under contract with UFC, which makes him subject to UFC’s drug testing policy. Lesnar was announced to return to UFC only two months before his fight, so there wasn’t enough time for him to go through the full four months of testing.
Unfortunately, some breaking news has come to light that has severely dampened Lesnar’s future in UFC and WWE. Earlier today, Lesnar was informed of a possible doping violation that stemmed from an out-of-competition drug test that was taken by the United States Anti-Doping Agency in late June.
“The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Brock Lesnar of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection on June 28, 2016. USADA received the testing results from the June 28, 2016 sample collection from the WADA-accredited UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory on the evening of July 14, 2016.
“USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case. It is important to note that, under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full fair legal review process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed. The Nevada State Athletic Commission also retains jurisdiction over this matter as the sample collection was performed in close proximity to Lesnar’s bout at UFC 200 in Las Vegas.
“Consistent with all previous potential anti-doping violations, additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.”
Lesnar’s next step will most likely be to appeal the results of the test. He also has the right to ask for a “B” sample to be taken as well. However, Lesnar is still going to have to deal with the backlash of being flagged, which will impact his UFC status. The bigger issue for WWE is that SummerSlam is just over a month away, and he’s scheduled to face Randy Orton at that event.
If Brock Lesnar’s appeal goes poorly and he is eventually suspended by UFC, WWE officials are going to be put into a tough spot. Unless WWE has also tested him, Lesnar won’t officially violate WWE’s Wellness Policy. Under those circumstances, then he’ll most likely be able to compete at SummerSlam against Randy Orton, but that could make WWE look very bad.
WWE may be forced to suspend him for his first violation of their Wellness Policy. However, the date is going to be crucial because WWE programming just had to deal with Roman Reigns serving a suspension for his first violation. If Lesnar is suspended by WWE, then there is a good chance he’ll miss SummerSlam and the match with Randy Orton will be cancelled.
As of this writing, Brock Lesnar hasn’t released any statement or admitted anything, but the entire situation has put him in very hot water with UFC and on thin ice with WWE. It may take some time, but Lesnar could be cleared without any punishment. At this point, only time will tell if Brock Lesnar is guilty or not; then we’ll see what the future hold for him in UFC and WWE.
[Image via WWE]
