The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has suspended veteran MMA fighter Gilbert Melendez for two years, despite Melendez no longer being under UFC contract. Melendez, meanwhile, is arguing USADA had no right to test him in the first place.
USADA, the UFC's contracted anti-doping partner, announced Monday that it had won its arbitration case over Melendez. The arbitrator determined that Melendez should be suspended two years after he tested positive for GHRP-6, a banned growth-hormone-releasing peptide. The ban, which only encompasses the UFC, is retroactive to Nov. 1, 2019, the date of Melendez's initial provisional suspension.
The details of the case are unique. Melendez is no longer on the UFC roster -- and the former Strikeforce champion argued in arbitration that he was released by the UFC before USADA administered this test. Melendez said USADA no longer had jurisdiction over him, given he was no longer a UFC athlete....
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Melendez receives 2-year ban, disputes ruling
The USADA has suspended Gilbert Melendez for two years, but he questions whether he should have been tested at all.
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