Antonio Rogerio Nogueira has been notified by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) of a potential violation from an out of competition sample collected on September 27.
Lil? Nog was set to fight Jared Cannonier this December at UFC On Fox 26, but he has been pulled from the card by the UFC.
Nogueira did issue a statement of his own through Instagram, acknowledging a diuretic was found in his sample, but he is unaware of how it got into said system.
Here is a translation of what the fighter wrote on social media:
?Students, fans, friends, family: to all who are always by my side, I am here speaking to you. Today I was surprised by the USADA ? dopping control organ ? that appeared a diuretic substance in my exams. I am here to try to clarify because we do not have all the explanations yet, but from now on we will investigate this situation thoroughly, I have told all of you that I am confident in my innocence and we will actually find out what happened, and defend myself in the hour timely. I?ve always played the rules, I?m a veteran fighter and I?ve been in the sport for a long time; and I want to always set an example for the younger ones who mirror the career I built and would never get involved with something unlawful to improve my performance or gain any advantage. I have never needed to take a diuretic, everyone who accompanies me mainly my coaches, know that I never had any difficulties to lose weight and this is the function of the diuretic. As soon as the UFC marks my fight, I start a process of diet and training for precisely, at the end of the camp does not suffer with the weight loss. It is very difficult going through this, for me I have always been honest, and especially with my work, that I dedicated myself and still dedicate myself with much love. On account unfortunately my fight was canceled, I was very sad about it all, but I hope as soon as possible to clarify this misunderstanding and give spectacular fight to all of you. Thank you all for your support and respect for me.?
The UFC has also issued a statement of their own:
The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Antonio Rogerio Nogueira of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collected on September 27, 2017. Due to the proximity of Nogueira?s upcoming scheduled bout at UFC FIGHT NIGHT: LAWLER vs. DOS ANJOS in Winnipeg, Canada on December 16, 2017 against Jared Cannonier, Nogueira has been removed from the card and the UFC is currently seeking a replacement.
USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Nogueira. Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full and fair legal process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed. Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.
Even though Nogueira said a diuretic was found in his sample, neither he or USADA have yet to reveal what the exact substance he had in his system. There is also no word at this time as to what kind of punishment the Brazilian MMA legend could be facing.