Den forne tungviktsmästaren Junior dos Santos skulle ha mött Francis Ngannou på kommande UFC 215. Men under gårdagen rapporterades det att ”JDS” åkt fast i ett USADA-test, och han tvingas nu utgå från matchen.
LÄS MER Junior dos Santos misstänkt för doping
Nu släpper ”Ciganos” team ett uttalande. Där förnekar man att det ska röra sig om en förbjuden substans. I uttalandet förklarar managern Ana Guedes att man fortfarande försöker fastslå vad som har hänt: (via MMAFighting)
”We are still trying to understand the test results, so that we can investigate and determine what happened. What we know as of now is that Junior dos Santos has never taken PEDs, has never knowingly used any banned substances, and has always supported USADA’s policies and efforts to keep the sport clean.”
”If ever there was a fighter who made his position on this issue unequivocal, it’s Junior. We are confident that that we will be able to figure out what happened, and will provide an explanation once we have one.”
Senare släppte man också ännu ett uttalande, där man fastslagit att det misslyckade testet berodde på ett vätskedrivande medel (diuretika) snarare än ett prestationshöjande medel. dos Santos ska också personligen ha bett om ursäkt till motståndaren Ngannou.
“Junior tested positive for a substance called Hydrochlorothiazite, which is a diuretic and is banned by USADA due to its use as a masking agent. We do not know where this substance came from. Junior has had his blood and urine randomly tested many times and has never once tested positive for a banned substance.
“We requested testing of his B sample today. Most times, the B sample will show the identical results as the A sample. Therefore, we are already working on analyzing his nutritional supplements and medications, to determine whether anything might have been contaminated. Jeff Novitzky and Donna Marcolini of the UFC have provided the guidance for this process, and we are grateful to them for their professionalism and competence.”
“Junior remains committed to and supportive of USADA drug testing – even if he is bearing an unfortunate consequence of it. He spoke personally with Francis Ngannou, and apologized for the unintended consequence to him. Junior thanks Francis for the sympathy, understanding, and respect that transpired during their call, and very much looks forward to resolving this situation so that he and Francis can set up a new date to face one another,” skriver man i ett andra uttalande.
UFC har ännu inte hittat en ny motståndare åt Ngannou, som själv reagerade genom ett inlägg på sociala medier då han nåddes av nyheterna.
https://twitter.com/francis_ngannou/status/898655882153558016
UFC 215: Johnson vs. Borg går av stapeln den 9 september.
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