At UFC 194, 38-year-old Yoel Romero edged out a split-decision victory over Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza that was expected to lead to a title shot against the new middleweight champion Luke Rockhold. Instead, Romero could be facing a 2-4 year suspension after being flagged by the USADA for a potential anti-doping violation resulting from an out-of-competition test.
“The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) informed Yoel Romero of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection,” UFC officials said in a release.
“USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Romero. Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.”
Romero is a Cuban-born former Olympic silver medalist in wrestling who got a late start in MMA. If the suspension is handed down, there’s a strong possibility that it would mean the end of Romero’s UFC career, as he would be anywhere from 40-42 years old when the suspension would be lifted. As great of an athlete as he is, it’d nearly impossible to compete in this sport at that age.
The USADA is still investigating the flagged test and will announce their findings, as well as any sort of punishment at a later date.
