Breaking: Cris Cyborg Flagged For Potential USADA Violation
The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) continues to crack down on fighters in the UFC for potential anti-doping violations, and now the agency has flagged Invicta FC featherweight champ Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino for a potential violation.
The UFC issued a statement today (Thursday December 22, 2016) that the Brazilian champ has been flagged for an out-of-competition test administered on December 5, 2016:
The UFC organization was formally notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection on December 5, 2016.
USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case. It is important to note that, under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full fair legal review process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed.
Consistent with all previous potential anti-doping violations, additional information or UFC statements will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.
After reigning in the Invicta FC promotion as the 145-pound champ, Justino made her long-awaited UFC debut in a match-up against Leslie Smith in which the Brazilian took home a victory via first round knockout. She followed up the masterful performance with a second round win over UFC newcomer Lina Lansberg.
”Cyborg’ had been campaigning for the UFC to implement a female featherweight division for quite some time now, and was granted her wish when the promotion announced Holly Holm vs. Germaine de Randamie will go down at UFC 208 for the inaugural strap.
Unfortunately Justino was unable to make weight in time to participate for the historical bout, but many expected her to challenge the winner of the contest between Holm and Randamie for the title next. With news now breaking that Justino may be in for a long fight of her own with USADA, that may take longer than expected.
We’ll keep you updated as we learn more…..
