Giacomo Lemos was scheduled to kick off the UFC 240 card against Tanner Boser in a heavyweight division attraction.
However, it would be revealed by Boser a few days ago that Lemos had failed a drug test and their bout had been canceled. UFC officials would confirm the bouts cancellation, but wouldn’t comment on a potential drug test failure for Lemos.
Lemos has now issued a statement to MMA Fighting on the matter:
“I still don’t really know what happened, but we suspect that an anti-inflammatory injection I took on my last fight in Seoul [on April 8], before I had a contract with the UFC, was contaminated with this substance, a substance that stays longer in your body. I got confirmation that I was going to fight in the UFC on six weeks’ notice. My test was done on July 9, and unfortunately the result came back two days before my debut. We’re also investigating all supplements I took since then and we’ll get them analyzed as well to check for a possible contamination, besides asking for the B sample to be tested because the amount was so low it would mean no benefit in this fight. I want to make clear that I’m completely against any form of doping. I’ve was always been a clean athlete and competed in many different sports, being drug tested before, and never tested positive for anything. My goal is to continue in the UFC proving my innocence in this case because I know I have what it takes to fight for the belt one day.”
If Lemos did indeed fail a USADA issued drug test, it could mean a potential one year suspension for the fighter before Lemos even made his UFC debut.
