A lightweight preliminary fight between Drew Dober and Islam Makhachev was cancelled on Friday, just 24 hours prior to fight time.
Makhachev was pulled from the fight card after testing positive for the banned substance meldonium. Meldomium is a heart medication that was recently added to the World Anti-Doping Agency list of banned substances “because of evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance.”
The cancelled fight left UFC on FOX 19 with 11 bouts.
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The Ultimate Fighting Championship issued the following statement on the matter:
“The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) informed Islam Makhachev of a potential Anti-Doping Policy Violation involving Meldonium, a prohibited substance, stemming from a recent out-of-competition sample collection. In accordance with the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, Makhachev has received a provisional suspension, and has been removed from his scheduled bout against Drew Dober from Saturday’s card in Tampa, Florida.
“The UFC Anti-Doping Program follows the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List of Substances, which is updated yearly. Meldonium was recently added to the WADA Prohibited List, which went into effect on January 1, 2016. WADA recently announced that they are currently conducting further studies of the substance which may influence how cases involving Meldonium are evaluated. In order to ensure Makhachev receives full and fair due process, USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will consider all relevant information before making any determinations.
Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.”
