Written by
Brock Lesnar has made no official announcements, but he has notified the UFC of his retirement from MMA, a UFC spokesperson confirmed with MMA Fighting on Tuesday.
Lesnar has also been removed from the USADA drug-testing pool, meaning he is no longer officially on the UFC roster, per USADA spokesperson Ryan Madden. Last week, it was reported that Lesnar’s name had been removed from the UFC’s unofficial online roster.
Lesnar, 39, was suspended for one year by USADA last month after testing positive for the banned substance clomiphene twice over the summer. He would have been eligible to return July 15, 2017, but his suspension has been frozen since he is no longer in the testing pool, per the promotion’s anti-doping policy.
The former UFC heavyweight champion would not be able to compete in the Octagon again, if he so chooses, until he serves the duration of his suspension, which would be five months starting from when he re-enters the drug-testing pool.
“Pursuant to the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, all UFC athletes serving a period of ineligibility for an anti-doping policy violation are required to remain in the USADA registered testing pool and make themselves available for testing in order to receive credit for time served under his or her sanction,” USADA’s press release regarding Lesnar’s sanction stated. “Furthermore, if an athlete retires during his or her period of ineligibility, the athlete’s sanction will be tolled until such time the athlete notifies USADA of his or her return from retirement and once again makes him or herself available for no-advance-notice, out-of-competition testing.”
Lesnar (5-3, 1 NC) returned after nearly five years away from MMA at UFC 200 against Mark Hunt. He failed an out-of-competition drug test prior to the fight and then another on fight night. The pre-fight test result did not come back until after UFC 200, so Lesnar was able to fight, a situation that has come under major scrutiny. Lesnar ended up beating Hunt by unanimous decision at the event, though the result was overturned by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) in December.
To continue reading this article, click here.
