The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has announced that Raphael Pessoa Nunes, of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has accepted a one-year sanction for a violation of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy.
Pessoa Nunes, 31, tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) and its metabolites chlorothiazide and 4-amino-6-chloro-1,3-benzenedisulfonamide (ACB) as the result of a sample collected out-of-competition on March 4, 2020. HCTZ is a Specified Substance in the class of Diuretics and Masking Agents and is prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and UFC Prohibited List.
The reporting of the sample was delayed by laboratory closures due to COVID-19.
Pessoa Nunes’ one-year period of ineligibility began on March 4, 2020, the date his positive sample was collected.
Further, USADA announced recently that Jesse Ronson, of London, Ontario, Canada, has accepted a 20-month sanction for a violation of the UFC® Anti-Doping Policy.
Ronson, 34, tested positive for metabolite of metandienone (18-nor-17β-hydroxymethyl-17α-methylandrosta-1,4,13-triene-3-one) as the result of a sample collected out-of-competition on July 22, 2020. Metandienone (also known as methandienone) is a non-Specified Substance in the class of Anabolic Agents and is prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and UFC Prohibited List.
Upon being added to the UFC Anti-Doping Program, athletes are required to declare all medications and supplements they have used in the previous 12 months. An athlete who declares the prior use of a prohibited substance will not be deemed to have committed a violation but, depending on the substance, may be required to refrain from competition for a period of at least six months and provide at least two negative samples. Ronson did not declare the use of metandienone on his onboarding declaration forms.
Ronson received a reduction to the period of ineligibility for his Full and Complete Cooperation under the revised UFC ADP announced on November 25, 2019.
Ronson’s 20-month period of ineligibility began on July 22, 2020, the date his positive sample was collected.
