Stefan Sekulic, who made his UFC debut earlier this year at UFC Fight Night Moscow, has been issued a two year suspension from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
The fighter failed an in competition drug test in line with UFC Fight Night Moscow, where he suffered a unanimous decision loss to Ramazan Emeev. Sekulic is able to return to action again on October 31 of 2020, since the suspension is retroactive to when the fighter was provisionally suspended by USADA.
USADA issued the following statement on the matter:
December 18, 2018
USADA announced today that Stefan Sekulic, of Novi Sad, Serbia, has accepted a two-year sanction for a violation of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy after testing positive for prohibited substances.
Sekulic, 26, tested positive for drostanolone and its metabolites, as well as a metabolite of metandienone, following an in-competition test conducted at UFC Fight Night in Moscow, Russia, on September 15, 2018. These are non-Specified Substances in the class of Anabolic Agents and prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, which has adopted the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List.
Sekulic’s two-year period of ineligibility began on October 31, 2018, the date on which he was provisionally suspended from competition.
Pursuant to the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, all UFC athletes serving a period of ineligibility for an anti-doping policy violation are required to continue to make themselves available for testing to receive credit for time completed under their sanction.
USADA conducts the year-round, independent anti-doping program for all UFC athletes. USADA is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental agency whose sole mission is to preserve the integrity of competition, inspire true sport, and protect the rights of clean athletes. In an effort to aid UFC athletes, as well as their support team members, in understanding the rules applicable to them, USADA provides comprehensive instruction on the UFC Anti-Doping Program website (https://UFC.USADA.org) regarding the testing process and prohibited substances, how to obtain permission to use a necessary medication, and the risks and dangers of taking supplements as well as performance-enhancing and recreational drugs. In addition, the agency manages a drug reference hotline, Drug Reference Online (https://UFC.GlobalDRO.com), conducts educational sessions, and proactively distributes a multitude of educational materials, such as the Prohibited List, easy-reference wallet cards, and periodic athlete alerts.
Along with education and testing, robust anti-doping programs enable investigations stemming from tips and whistleblowers. USADA makes available a number of ways to report the abuse of performance-enhancing drugs in sport in an effort to protect clean athletes and promote clean competition. Any tip can be reported using the USADA Play Clean Tip Center, by email at [email protected], by phone at 1 877-Play Clean (1-877-752-9253), or by mail.
