Written by Matt Connolly at Forbes.com
The Nevada Athletic Commission had a very busy Thursday morning, ruling on three separate cases involving UFC stars Brock Lesnar, Jon Jones and Nate Diaz.
Lesnar, who tested positive for anti-estrogen agents clomiphene and hydroxy-clomiphene in out-of-competition and in-competition samples, received a one-year suspension retroactive to his fight with Mark Hunt at UFC 200 on July 9. Lesnar was also fined $250,000, the equivalent of 10% of his $2.5 million disclosed purse, and had his decision win over Hunt overturned to a no contest.
The quarter million dollars is the most a UFC athlete has been fined in the history of the commission. According to Fox Sports’ Damon Martin, the terms of Lesnar’s punishment were agreed upon prior to Thursday’s hearing.
Jones, who tested positive for anti-estrogen agents hydroxy-clomiphene and letrozale, also received a one-year ban. The NAC elected to treat Jones as a first-time offender despite his history with the commission, effectively taking a lengthier suspension off the table.
The terms of Jones’ punishment, which were first reported last Thursday, are retroactive to July 6 — the date his out-of-competition drug test failure was announced. Jones was scheduled to face Daniel Cormier at UFC 200, but was pulled from the card just days before the event. Because he was did not receive any fight pay, Jones was not fined by the commission.
Jones’ NAC suspension aligns with the one-year ban levied by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, the UFC’s third-party drug-testing partner, after Jones appealed his case to an arbitration panel. USADA has not weighed in on Lesnar, but the agency is not expected to take action beyond his NAC-imposed sanctions.
The substances Lesnar and Jones tested positive for are commonly used by performance-enhancing drug users coming off a cycle, but Jones was able to pin his test failure on a tainted sexual-enhancement pill. Lesnar’s camp conducted tests on the fighter’s foot and eye medication, but it is unclear whether they found anything worth presenting to the commission.
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