UFC president Dana White is on record as saying Francis NGannou is the next big thing. He was to have fought #4 ranked Junior Dos Santos at UFC 215 on September 9 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Dos Santos was coming off a failed attempt to regain the UFC heavyweight title vs. Stipe Miocic at UFC 211 on May 13. With a win, the next stop for NGannou was presumably a title shot.
However, JDS has been pulled from the fight over a potential anti-doping violation. The unfortunate news came via UFC.com.
The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Junior Dos Santos of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collected on Aug. 10, 2017. Because of the proximity to Dos Santos’ upcoming scheduled bout at UFC 215 in Edmonton, Canada against Francis Ngannou, Dos Santos has been removed from the card and the UFC is currently seeking a replacement.
USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Dos Santos. Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full and fair legal process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed. Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.
The second paragraph is not a polite way of saying JDS is guilty as hell. Some fighters have had a test flagged and later been found not culpable. For example, Li Jingliang, Ning Guangyou, and Augusto Montano tested positive for clenbuterol, but USADA found they ingested the substance without fault or negligence, and were cleared to fight immediately following the investigation. And, of course, other fighters, for example Adam Hunter, were found to be responsible and suspended for the full two years. Still others fall in between.
Never the less, NGannou was not impressed. Just days before he posted a ferocious workout on his social network.
https://twitter.com/francis_ngannou/status/897481392040271872
And now …
https://twitter.com/francis_ngannou/status/898655882153558016
Junior’s manager Ana Guedes released a statement to Guilherme Cruz for MMA Fighting.
We are still trying to understand the test results, so that we can investigate and determine what happened. What we know as of now is that Junior dos Santos has never taken PEDs, has never knowingly used any banned substances, and has always supported USADA’s policies and efforts to keep the sport clean.
If ever there was a fighter who made his position on this issue unequivocal, it’s Junior. We are confident that we will be able to figure out what happened, and will provide an explanation once we have one.
Unfortunately, the process to determine culpability in potential doping violations generally takes months to make a firm determination.
