Alldeles nyss meddelades riktigt tråkiga nyheter. Den forne tungviktsmästaren Junior dos Santos har nämligen flaggats av US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) för potentiell doping, något som UFC avslöjade via sin hemsida.
Detta innebär att ”Cigano” tas bort från den framemotsedda matchen mot topp 5-rankade Francis Ngannou, som skulle ha ägt rum under nästa månads UFC 215.
UFC släppte följande uttalande (via UFC.com):
“The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Junior Dos Santos of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collected on Aug. 10, 2017. Because of the proximity to Dos Santos’ upcoming scheduled bout at UFC 215 in Edmonton, Canada against Francis Ngannou, Dos Santos has been removed from the card and the UFC is currently seeking a replacement.
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.”
Kort efter nyheten gav även dos Santos representater ut ett uttalande (via MMAjunkie):
“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 PED’s, 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.”
En besviken Ngannou tog omedelbart till Twitter för att uttrycka sin frustration.
https://twitter.com/francis_ngannou/status/898655882153558016
UFC 215: Johnson vs. Borg äger rum i Edmonton, Kanada, den nionde september.
