Gastelum pulled from Silva fight over positive test for THC
USADA informed Kelvin Gastelum of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation involving Carboxy-Tetrahydrocannabinol which is a metabolite of marijuana and/or hashish.
The UFC’s independent drug testing agency does not test for recreational drugs outside of competition. However, marijuana is tested for in-competition. Alcohol is treated similarly – you are not tested for alcohol out of competition, but are prohibited from fighting while drunk.
Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs have a cutoff of 50 ng/ML. World Anti-Doping Agency has a threshold of 150 ng/ML. USADA uses 180 ng/ML. And UFC fighter Kelvin Gastelum tested positive above that level during his last fight, which was in March. As a consequence, Gastelum has been pulled from his fight with Anderson Silva at UFC 212.
Via UFC.com.
The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) informed Kelvin Gastelum of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation involving Carboxy-Tetrahydrocannabinol (Carboxy-THC) which is a metabolite of marijuana and/or hashish, above the decision limit of 180 ng/mL, stemming from an in-competition sample collected in conjunction with his recent bout in Fortaleza, Brazil on March 11, 2017.
USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Gastelum, as it relates to the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and future UFC participation. Because the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA) was the regulatory body overseeing the fight in Fortaleza and has licensing jurisdiction over Gastelum, USADA will work to ensure that the Commission has the necessary information to determine its proper judgment of Gastelum’s potential anti-doping violation. Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.
As a result of the potential anti-doping violation against Gastelum, USADA has placed him under a provisional suspension. While the UFC Anti-Doping Policy affords Gastelum full and fair due process rights before any possible adjudication of his case, because of the proximity to Gastelum’s scheduled June 3rd bout against Anderson Silva, Gastelum is being removed from the card and a replacement is currently being sought.