Last month it was revealed that BJ Penn would be unable to fight at UFC 197 due to a pending investigation into a violation of the UFC and USADA’s anti-doping policy.
Penn admitted to the use of an IV out-of-competition, which is against the policy, but and claimed he was unaware of that part of the policy. Today USADA handed down his suspension which is retroactive to the date of his infraction:
USADA suspended Penn six months for IV usage Monday, the UFC’s third-party anti-doping partner announced. Penn informed USADA that he had used an IV out of competition on March 25. His suspension will be retroactive to that date and Penn will be able to return to the Octagon beginning Sept. 25.
The USADA release said the IV infusion Penn received was greater than 50 mL within a six-hour period, according to the findings of an investigation. A volume that large over that that amount of time is prohibited by the UFC’s anti-doping policy, unless the fighter needs an IV during hospital admission, surgery or clinical investigations. In all other cases, a fighter would need a therapeutic use exemption (TUE).
