What’s the story?
Men’s Fitness recently published a report on their website explaining in detail why the USADA handed Brock Lesnar a one-year ban from the UFC on Wednesday.
In case you didn’t know...
Lesnar had tested positive for banned substances prior to his match against Mark Hunt at UFC 200 on 9 July 2016. This was revealed through results of two separate urine tests conducted in June and the day of his match respectively.
Although the former UFC Heavyweight Champion did compete in the match and win, the United States Anti-Doping Agency provisionally suspended him on 15 July. As a result of this, the Nevada State Athletic Commission also declared his win as a no-contest.
Brock Lesnar is a former one-time UFC Heavyweight Champion and held the title from 15 November 2008 to 23 October 2010. His fight against Hunt at UFC 200 was his first after a duration of nearly 5 years.
The heart of the matter
According to Men’s Fitness, the substances for which Brock Lesnar tested positive, clomiphene and its metabolite 4-hydroxyclomiphene, are banned from usage under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy. The purpose of clomiphene is to counter the side effects of steroid usage but may, in turn, end up spiking testosterone levels and this is exactly what happened in Lesnar’s case.
While clomiphene is useful in terms of treating infertility in women, it has been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency for athletes as it assists them in the production of testosterone. It must be noted that the WWE superstar’s representatives had claimed in October last year that usage of asthma medication, eye medication and foot cream possibly resulted in the positive tests.
What next?
Brock Lesnar’s ban from competing in the UFC will come to an end on 15 July this year, exactly one year from the day he was provisionally suspended by the USADA. However, this will not prevent him from being part of WWE events in any way.
Sportskeeda’s Take
The decision to hand ‘The Conqueror’ a one-year ban from the UFC is certainly a correct one on the part of the USADA. However, if anything, it does put an unwanted blemish on Brock Lesnar’s near perfect career which has seen him enjoy rare and unprecedented success in both professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.
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