Sean O'Malley is out of UFC 239.
UFC bantamweight Sean O'Malley took to Instagram to announce that he has been forced to withdraw for UFC 239 after a temporary suspension was handed down by the Nevada State Athletic Commission due to traces of the banned substance ostarine being discovered in his system by United States Anti-Doping Agency testing.
O'Malley's statement:
USADA has notified me that ostarine, the substance that showed up in my system last year and led to USADA sanctioning me, has resurfaced at an extremely low level in two recent tests. The good news is that USADA says this is most likely residual from last year and that the low level is providing me with no performance advantage. That?s why USADA is not re-sanctioning me for these test results. I already served a USADA sanction for the presence of ostarine in my system, and it has decreased dramatically since last year.
The bad news is that the Nevada State Athletic Commission has temporarily suspended me while they look into the situation. I feel terrible to let down my fans who were looking forward to watching me fight in Las Vegas next month, I look forward to publicly discussing my case before the Nevada State Athletic Commission with scientific experts who can explain why very low levels of ostarine are showing up in my system.
I want to make one thing very clear: I have never purposely taken any prohibited substance to gain an advantage. I will subject myself to whatever additional testing is required of me by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. I want to get this situation finally cleared up so I can return to the Octagon as soon as I can.
O'Malley was scheduled to fight Marlon Vera at UFC 239 on Jul. 6 in Las Vegas. He was expected to face José Alberto Quiñónez on Oct. 6, 2018 at UFC 229 but had to drop out after testing positive for ostarine. He was suspended six months for the violation. He hasn't fought since defeating Andre Soukhamthath at UFC 222 in March 2018.