Sean O’Malley Pulled From UFC 239 Over Traces Of Banned Substance Resurfacing

Sean O’Malley is back in the headlines as it was revealed on Friday (June 21, 2019) that his scheduled bout at UFC 239 was scrapped once he was pulled because of a failed drug test.

The rising prospect broke the news in an Instagram post where he announced that he has been temporarily suspended by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) due to trace amounts of the banned substance Ostarine appearing in his system. He issued the following statement:

“USADA has notified me that ostarine, the substance that showed up in my system last year and led to USADA sanctioning me, has resurfaced at an extremely low level in two recent tests,” O’Malley’s Instagram statement read in part. “The good news is that USADA says this is most likely residual from last year and that the low level is providing me with no performance advantage. That’s why USADA is not re-sanctioning me for these test results. I already served a USADA sanction for the presence of ostarine in my system, and it has decreased dramatically since last year.”

“Punished twice for doing nothing wrong,” O’Malley said. “I have never taken anything illegal. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I will continue to train and get better everyday.”

O’Malley had been under a suspension for six months through March after a similar infraction. He was reinstated by USADA but still had to serve the short length of the punishment. The reason for the short-term suspension was due to it stemming from levels of Ostarine as they were consistent with the volume found in contaminated supplements.

As a result, USADA decided against the idea of levying any additional penalties due to the meager amount of the substance in his body.