Yoel Romero has settled on a 6-month suspension after the middleweight was flagged for a “potential Anti-Doping policy” violation stemming from his December fight with Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.
Romero, 38, indicated that he was going to appeal the two-year suspension suggested by USADA. He claimed he took a contaminated supplement. Romero tested for Ibutamoren on December 16, 2015. Ibutamoren is a Human Growth Hormone Secretagogue. In fact, the USADA release announcing the settlement states it was a “contaminated supplement.”
According to the UFC anti-doping program, an appeal would have been heard by a independent third party. In this case, the USADA protocol designates McLaren Global Sports Solutions, Inc. of Toronto, Canada as the arbitrator for any appeal of findings.
UFC Athlete, Romero, Accepts Sanction for Anti-Doping Policy Violation: https://t.co/RtERHgJepv
— USADA (@usantidoping) April 4, 2016
Payout Perspective:
The settlement is favorable to Romero as he faced a two-year ban. It’s an interesting settlement. Certainly, Romero saves money by settling and not arbitrating the case. A fighter that appeals a drug test must pay for his defense and the fee to appeal. The 6 months is not a huge setback to Romero’s fight career since he’d probably need to wait that time to train for his next fight. Thus far, no fighter has arbitrated a drug test since the UFC anti-doping program began last July.
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