Abdul-Kerim Edilov was set to make his UFC debut at the UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs. Cruz card, but an injury during training camp prevented him from making that debut. But that wasn't all, as the fighter was tested the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), and ended up failing for meldonium.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) made meldonium an illegal substance on January 1st, 2016…the very same day week Edilov was tested.
USADA has released a statement on meldonium , which you can see below.
“Meldonium is a non-specified substance that was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List in 2016. It is in the category of Hormone and Metabolic Modulators and is now prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, which has adopted the WADA Prohibited List.
“After a thorough review of the laboratory results and the evidence presented, USADA accepted Edilov’s explanation that the meldonium was a prescribed medication he was taking in a therapeutic dose under the care of a physician and without the intent to enhance his athletic performance. Nonetheless, because Edilov’s use of meldonium continued after the substance was officially prohibited on January 1, 2016, he required a valid Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) in order to avoid violating the UFC Anti-Doping Policy.”
Other fighters in the UFC like Daniel Omielanczuk and Islam Makhachev have been found to have meldonium in their systems as well, but they were tested prior to WADA making the substance a banned substance.
The suspension for Edilov is retroactive to January 7, 2016, which means that Edilov will be able to fight again on April 7, 2017.
Edilov stated through other outlets that he was using the substance for medical purposes, but was not able to prove that at any point in the USADA investigation.
