UFC's Amanda Ribas 'humiliated and victimized,' warns fellow fighters after two-year suspension

Despite a failed drug test and subsequent two-year suspension that spoiled her planned UFC debut, Amanda Ribas is maintaining her innocence.

The 24-year-old Brazilian strawweight sent a statement to MMAjunkie following Wednesday’s announcement of her suspension from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), the UFC’s drug-testing partner.

The failed drug test, which scrapped Ribas’ (6-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) 2017 bout with Juliana Lima (9-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) on the undercard of The Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale, was due to ostarine, a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) that’s banned year-round.

Ribas initially maintained her innocence, and following the announcement of a career-stalling two-year suspension, she hasn’t backed down from that stance. She also offered some addition details.

According to Ribas, the failed drug test was likely due to a tainted supplement, and at her own cost, she had her an array of supplements tested. Ostarine wasn’t detected in any of them, though she said they may have been in a bottle of supplements she completed and thus didn’t have available to test.

“However, we did find clumbeterol, which also is a forbidden substance, but oddly enough, never showed up in my tests,” she wrote.

Ribas said she hopes her situation serve as a wakeup call for fellow fighters, who may pay put too much faith into the safety and legitimacy of the supplements they take. (USADA.org includes a large amount of information on supplements for athletes and even has a special section devoted to ostarine.)

Here’s Ribas’ full statement:

“This is Amanda Ribas. I am fighter under contract to the UFC. Recently one of my anti doping tests performed by USADA came out positive for the steroid Ostarine.

“This would have been my debut in the UFC and the fulfillment of my dream!

“Those who know me, know my opinion and thoughts on PEDs. I was a Brazilian National Judo team member, and I am a professional MMA fighter. I have always been completely against any kind of cheating and the use of any of these kinds of products!

“When the test came back positive, I, along with my manager and trainer, gathered all the supplements and medicines I had been using, and sent them to USADA to try to find out how this had shown up in my body. Not only had I not used it, up until that moment, I had never even heard of Ostarine!

“After spending a lot of money on the testing of the supplements (which is paid for by the athlete), we were unable to find Ostarine in any of the products. However, we did find clumbeterol, which also is a forbidden substance, but oddly enough, never showed up in my tests.

“I have never used anything like this in my life, and I feel extremely humiliated and victimized at being punished for something I did not do. The fact that clumbeterol appeared in one of my supplements shows the poor quality and low standards of many of the supplement products on sale in Brazil and worldwide. For sure, I used a supplement that contained traces of Ostarine, but since it never occurred to me that things like this could happen, I must have used it up and thrown it away.

“It happened to me, and it has happened to other Brazilian athletes as well as athletes from other countries. I want to declare my innocence, and leave an urgent warning to all other athletes in Brazil and worldwide. This happens! It represents a huge risk to our lives and our careers! I will make it my mission to tell the world what happened to me, so that maybe I can avoid it happening to somebody else!

“I will serve my suspension, I will train hard, and I will come back and become UFC Champion!”

Ribas’ suspension is retroactive to June 7, 2017, the day her test was performed. She can return to competition on June 7, 2019.

For complete coverage of The Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale, check out the UFC Events section of the site.