Dolidze suspended after testing positive for multiple banned substances
Ukrainian light heavyweight Roman Dolidze will have to serve a one-year USADA suspension before getting the chance to make his Octagon debut.
Roman Dolidze will have to wait a little while longer to make his UFC debut.
The Ukrainian light heavyweight was suspended one year by USADA for testing positive for multiple banned substances, the UFC’s anti-doping partner announced Friday.
Dolidze failed an out-of-competition drug test administered by USADA on March 12 for clomiphene and its metabolites M1 and M2, as well as M3, a long-term metabolite of dehydrochlormethyltestosterone (DHCMT).
Clomiphene is a specified substance in the category of hormone and metabolic modulators, while DHCMT is a non-specified substance in the class of anabolic agents, per the WADA Prohibited List.
Suspensions usually last two years for non-specified substances and one year for specified substances, per the UFC anti-doping policy.
But Dolidze was given a reduced, one-year suspension because he “immediately came forward with detailed evidence of his use of prohibited substances before entering the UFC anti-doping program and continued to cooperate throughout USADA’s investigation related to his use,” according to a statement from USADA.
Dolidze has been scheduled to make his Octagon debut twice already earlier this year — first against Gadzhimurad Antigulov at UFC St. Petersburg in April, then against Vinicius Moreira at UFC Minneapolis in June. He was forced out of both contests. It is unclear whether his positive test had any effect on those fights.
The 31-year-old is undefeated at 6-0 as a pro MMA fighter. Five of six of his pro fights have taken place under the World Warriors Fighting Championships (WWFC) banner in his native Ukraine. He has won all six fights by stoppage. Dolidze made his pro debut in late 2016.
Dolidze will be eligible to return to the cage on March 12, 2020. His suspension was retroactive to the date the positive sample was collected.