On April 11, the American Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced that, with respect to Mairbek Taysumov, a decision had been made on a six-month disqualification for violating the UFC anti-doping policy after a positive test for a prohibited substance.
Taysumov, 30, tested positive for stanozolol metabolites. The athlete passed the test on September 15, 2018 as part of in-competition sample at the UFC Fight Night in Moscow, Russia. Stanozolol is a non-Specified Substance 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 Prohibited List.
Following notification of his positive test, Taisumov provided USADA with information about dietary supplement products he was using before and at the time of the relevant sample collection. USADA obtained open packages of the dietary supplements and addressed Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) to source unopened packages from Russia. Although no prohibited substances were listed on the supplement labels, product analysis conducted on both the open and independently sourced, unopened packages of the products by the WADA-accredited laboratory in Salt Lake City, indicated that they all contained stanozolol.
The presence of an undisclosed prohibited substance in the product is regarded as contamination. In accordance with the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, as well as the World Anti-Doping Code, an adverse result of an athlete's analysis due to the use of a contaminated product may lead to a decrease in sanctions.
Here, USADA took into consideration the circumstances that resulted in Taisumov’s positive test and determined that a six-month period of ineligibility was an appropriate sanction under the rules for his violation.
Taisumov’s six-month period of ineligibility began on October 8, 2018, the date his provisional suspension was imposed. Under the rules, any decision concerning competition results is handled by the UFC.