Junior Dos Santos rep: Team wants 2 supplements tested for source of Hydrochlorothiazide

With Junior Dos Santos’ Aug. 10 drug test in hand, and armed with the knowledge of what he tested positive for and its levels, a representative for the fighter said the goal now is to find out just where it came from.

Dos Santos (18-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC), a former UFC heavyweight champion, was pulled from his UFC 215 fight against Francis Ngannou (10-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) due to a potential doping violation stemming from an out-of-competition test administered by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, the UFC’s official anti-doping program administrator.

The flagged drug test was due to a positive test for Hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic typically used to prevent high blood pressure, according to WebMD.com, but also notable to USADA as a possible masking agent for other substances.

A statement sent to MMAjunkie by Dos Santos rep Ana Claudia Guedes on Saturday indicates the fighter’s level of the substance was low – and that it may have even come from contaminated water, though the team also wants to have two supplements Dos Santos recently began using tested by USADA.

“The level of hydrochlorothiazide listed on his USADA result was ‘low.’ Additionally, the specific gravity reading of Junior’s urine sample was 1.025, indicating that the sample was not diluted. We understand the concentrated urine sample to mean that the low level of hydrochlorothiazide in Junior’s system had no diuretic effect on his sample.

We are learning about some recent anti-doping cases where low levels of hydrochlorothiazide have been the result of supplement contamination, and even contaminated ground water. A 2016 study published by the National Institute of Health found that over-the-counter NSAIDs left hydrochlorothiazide traces.

Our goal now is simply to determine the unintended source of the hydrochlorothiazide. To that end, we have identified two nutritional supplements that Junior recently began using – neither of which show hydrochlorothiazide anywhere on their respective labels or ingredient lists – and are working with USADA to test both. Hopefully that gets us answers.

All drug tests that Junior has taken – both prior to and post implementation of the USADA program – have been negative, including blood and urine samples he provided on July 10 of this year. He prides himself on being a clean athlete, and looks forward to resolving this matter.

UFC 215 takes place Sept. 9 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and features a pair of title fights at the top of the card. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Ngannou, after initially saying he was “very, very angry” at Dos Santos’ positive test and the potential he might not get to fight on the card, on Saturday to call for a replcement opponent: Alistair Overeem.

While the UFC’s original statement on Dos Santos’ positive test said a new opponent would be sought for Ngannou on what now will be less than three weeks’ notice, nothing has been announced yet.

For more on UFC 215, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.