Another UFC light heavyweight legend has been banned by USADA. Former champion Lyoto Machida has accepted a reduced, 18-month ban, USADA announced today. This a week after another former 205-pound champ, Jon Jones, got a one year ban.
The Dragon admitted last April that he used a product that contained 7‐keto-dehydroepiandrosterone (7‐keto‐DHEA), which is a banned steroid. He explained what occurred via his Facebook last April:
I’m here to tell you that I was caught by surprise by this news. It has been very dificult for me. I’ve trained a lot for this fight, I’ve dedicated a lot with all my team mates. I want to tell you that I really didn’t know about this substance, so I listed it on my declaration form amongst everything else I was taking, and this substance was recently banned in 2016, so I take the blame for not knowing that, and I’d like to say I’m really sorry and apologize to my fans, team mates, and my family… I always try to play by the book, but unfortunately this happened.
The USADA says his ban is effective April 8, 2016, which would make him eligible to return to the octagon again around October 2017. Machida will be 39 years old at that point, and almost 2.5 years past his last appearance in the cage.
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