Heavyweight Suspended 4 Months By USADA For Tainted Supplement

UFC Heavyweight Division fighter Justin Ledet has been suspended four months by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for violation that took place earlier this year.

Ledet accepted the four month suspension from USADA because the positive test came as a result of a tainted supplement, the fighter could’ve had a one year suspension otherwise.

Here is the full statement from USADA:

Ledet, 29, tested positive for 5α-androst-1-ene-3α-ol-17-one, a metabolite of 1-testosterone and 1-androstenedione, following an out-of-competition test conducted on January 12, 2017. 1-testosterone and 1-androstenedione are non-Specified Substances in the class of Anabolic Agents and prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, which has adopted the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List.

Following notification of his positive test, Ledet provided USADA with an open container of a dietary supplement product he was using at the time of the relevant sample collection, which he had also declared on his sample collection paperwork and researched before using. Although no prohibited substances were listed on the supplement label, preliminary testing conducted on the contents of the open container indicated that it contained the anabolic agent 1-androstenedione. The presence of an undisclosed prohibited substance in a product is regarded as contamination.

Thereafter, at USADA’s request, the WADA-accredited laboratory in Salt Lake City, Utah, analyzed the contents of an independently sourced, unopened container with the identical lot number of the supplement in question. That testing conclusively confirmed that the supplement Ledet was using at the time of his positive test was contaminated with 1-androstenedione. Accordingly, the product has since been added to the High Risk List of supplements maintained on USADA’s online dietary supplement safety education and awareness resource – Supplement 411 (www.Supplement411.org). Athletes are reminded that even seemingly low-risk dietary supplements may contain prohibited substances, which may not be listed on the Supplement Facts label, thus USADA encourages athletes through Supplement 411 to challenge the reasons for using supplements and make themselves aware of how to reduce their risks of a positive anti-doping test and/or an adverse health event.

Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, as well as the World Anti-Doping Code, the determination that an athlete’s positive test was caused by a contaminated product may result in a reduced sanction. The sanction for a doping offense resulting from the use of a contaminated product ranges from a reprimand and no period of ineligibility, at a minimum, to a two-year period of ineligibility, at a maximum.

The fighter is currently undefeated under the UFC banner, having defeated the duo of Chase Sherman and Mark Godbeer. Ledet was pulled from the recent UFC Fight Night 104 event, where he was supposed to fight Dmitriy Sosnovsky, but was pulled following the drug test failure.

It won’t be until June 1 of this year that Ledet can competed again, as his suspension is retroactive to the date of failure — February 1 of this year.