Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett has been notified by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) of a potential violation, stemming from an out of competition that was collected by USADA on December 9.
If the violation is confirmed, it will be the third offense in total for Barnett. He failed tests in the past -- one at UFC 34 and one at UFC 36, and the last one saw him stripped of the UFC Heavyweight Title, Barnett would leave the UFC and not return until 2013.
The UFC issued the following statement on the matter:
“The UFC organization was formally notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Josh Barnett of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection on December 9, 2016. USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case. It is important to note that, under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full fair legal review process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed. Consistent with all previous potential anti-doping violations, additional information or UFC statements will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.”
While Barnett could be facing his test failure in his career, it would be his first under USADA. Barnett last competed at UFC Fight Night 93, where he submitted another former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski in the third round of their main event encounter.
Barnett has yet to issue a statement on the matter.
