Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior Dos Santos was all set to fight Francis Ngannou at UFC 215, then the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) came calling.
USADA informed the former heavyweight champion that he had failed an out of competition drug test, which would then prompt the UFC to remove him from UFC 215.
The heavyweight has remained silent, until now because he has released a statement of his own through Instagram:
Here is the English translation of what he said:
?I?m not here to give an explanation. Soon, everything will be clear to all of you and no doubt ? truth will prevail. I?m here in respect for all of you guys. I just want to say that this situation is very tough for me, my team and my family. And I would never cheat. It goes against everything I stand for. I play a fair game. We will get to the bottom of this, figure out what happened, learn from it and move on. And I hope in the near future, Francis Ngannou and me can face each other and give you guys the show you were expecting. For now, thank you very much for your support. It means a lot to me, and that?s why I?m here.?
Ngannou still doesn?t have a replacement opponent announced for UFC 215, but UFC officials are still attempting to lock one in.
UFC 215 takes place on Saturday, September 9 from Rogers Place on Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with Demetrious Johnson and Ray Borg headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.