UFC heavyweight prospect suspended for two years after failing two drugs tests

03 February 2023 , 19:53

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UFC heavyweight prospect suspended for two years after failing two drugs tests

UFC heavyweight Hamdy Abdelwahab has been banned for two years after failing two drug tests for the banned substance methenolone.

Abdelwahab, 30, was a protege of UFC star Jorge Masvidal and had previously competed for Masvidal's Gamebred FC and iKON FC promotions before receiving a call-up from the UFC last June. The Egyptian heavyweight won his UFC debut as he defeated Don'Tale Mayes by split decision, but the result of the fight has now been changed to a no-contest as a result of his drug test failures.

The UFC's anti-doping agency, USADA, announced the news of Abdelwahab's two-year sanction on Friday. Abdelwahab returned two positive drug tests for metholone, which is an anabolic/androgen steroid that is also known as primobolan. The first positive test Abdelwahab returned came on the day of his fight against Mayes, with the second coming a month later.

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"Abdelwahab tested positive for methenolone and its metabolite as the result of a sample collected in-competition on July 30, 2022, and a sample collected out-of-competition on August 27, 2022. Because Abdelwahab was not yet notified of his first positive test when his second test was collected, the two positive tests are combined into a single violation," the statement from USADA read.

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"Abdelwahab’s two-year period of ineligibility began on July 30, 2022, the date his first positive sample was collected. Abdelwahab’s positive test also falls under the jurisdiction of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which is resolving the case in accordance with its rules."

UFC heavyweight Hamdy Abdelwahab has been handed a two-year ban (Zuffa LLC)

A talented Greco-Roman wrestler, Abdelwahab was scheduled to fight Parker Porter last October but was withdrawn from the fight for unknown reasons. USADA revealed that Abdelwahab did not produce a sufficient explanation for why he tested positive for the banned substance, which is why he was banned for two years by the anti-doping agency.

"Abdelwahab did not declare the use of methenolone on his onboarding declaration forms and did not establish a compelling justification for his failure to do so. Based on USADA’s investigation, it was determined that Abdelwahab used the prohibited substance and knew of his obligation to declare it. The evidence constitutes a tampering violation in addition to the violation for his positive test for methenolone," the statement continued.

Harry Davies