CSAC Says Cyborg Must Pass Drug Test Before Getting Licensed For Invicta FC 11

In news that should surprise absolutely no one, Invicta FC featherweight champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino will be required to pass an out-of-competition (OOC) drug test before she receives a license to fight Charmaine Tweet for the belt in the main event of February 27’s Invicta FC 11 from Los Angeles, California.

California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) director Andy Foster confirmed the news to MMA Fighting earlier today (Thurs., February 12, 2015) with the following statement:

“She will not be licensed until she satisfies our drug-testing and medical requirements.”

Cyborg, who has not defended her belt once since winning it from former Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion Marloes Coenen in 2013, famously ran afoul of the CSAC when she tested positive for anabolic steroid stanozolol after her vicious TKO win over Hiroko Yamanaka at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal in late 2011.

The indiscretion lead to a yearlong suspension, her win being changed to a no contest, a fine, and her belt being stripped from her.

Justino has long been entrenched in a war of words with dominant UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, who is understandably an opponent of all performance-enhancing drug (PED) use in MMA.

Rousey will defend her belt exactly one day after the 29-year-old Cyborg finally returns (if she is in fact licensed) when she takes on longtime top contender Cat Zingano in the main event of February 28’s UFC 184 pay-per-view (PPV) from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Both Rousey and Zingano were issued random drug tests of their own by the CSAC yesterday (Wed., February 11, 2015).

Although Cyborg recently put her proposed cut to bantamweight on hold, UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta has since gone on record to state that those talks have been rekindled, and certainly the timeline of her and Rousey fighting on the same weekend could lead to what would undoubtedly be the biggest women’s MMA fight ever for sometime later this year.

But Cyborg has to pass the drug test, defeat Tweet, and then make the bantamweight limit of 135 pounds first, and if the past few weeks have shown us anything about MMA, it’s that absolutely nothing is guaranteed.

Let’s hope that Cyborg learned her lesson the first time around, because it would be a shame to see another stellar MMA career cut short by drug use.