Fabricio Werdum Reacts To Failed USADA Drug Test
Yesterday the MMA world was dealt some surprising news when Fabricio Werdum was flagged for failing a USADA drug test.
The potential violation put an end to his upcoming bout with Alexey Oleynik at September 15’s UFC Moscow, a fight that had been reported only a day before.
The news was followed by the predictable callout from welterweight trash talker Colby Covington and an insistence from Werdum’s manager Ali Abdelaziz that “Vai Cavalo” had not used any banned substances. Werdum also issued his own response later on, posting on Instagram that he was working with the UFC and USADA to figure out just what happened, as he is and always has been a proponent of a clean sport:
“Hey guys, I got up this morning to the news that one of my urine samples from April tested positive for a prohibited substance. I am working with my team, the UFC and USADA to understand what happened. I’ve always been careful with everything I take and I’ve always supported a clean sport. We will work hard to solve this misunderstanding and I hope soon to be able to go back to the octagon and do what I love.””
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjGUJmCBXEJ/
USADA has been tasked with the all-encompassing cleaning of the sport since 2015, resulting in the suspension of many fighters.
But several have fought their cases and won due to tainted supplements and/or other reasons, as big names such as Josh Barnett, Junior dos Santos, Yoel Romero, and Tim Means have all been given lightened suspensions or absolution after going through a rigorous process to prove their innocence.
Most fighters claim they are innocent after a failed drug test, however, so we’ll have to wait and see Werdum’s individual case shakes out. For what it’s worth, the former heavyweight champion has never been suspended for PED use in the past.
