Gastelum will no longer face Spider in Rio (Photo: Buda Mendes/UFC)
UFC 212 lost one of its main fights. The event, which takes place in Rio de Janeiro, on June 3, would feature a middleweight duel between Anderson Silva e Kelvin Gastelum. This Thursday (6), however, Ultimate announced that USADA found abnormalities in an anti-doping test conducted on the North American on the day of his fight against Vitor belfort by UFC Fortaleza, in March this year. According to the examination, KG had used marijuana, which is prohibited during competition and he will no longer face Spider in the second Brazilian event in 2017.
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In an official statement, the UFC guaranteed that Gastelum will have the right to an appropriate defense, if he so wishes, and it will be up to CABMMA (Brazilian MMA Commission) to find a reasonable punishment for the North American, if he is indeed guilty. In any case, Ultimate anticipated and removed Kelvin from his fight with Anderson Silva, which would be the second most important of the night at UFC 212.
Even so, the UFC has assured that the former middleweight champion will be kept in the event, and is in the process of identifying a suitable replacement for Gastelum, who is coming off two straight victories at 84 lbs., against Tim Kennedy and Vitor belfort. It is possible, however, that the triumph over the Phenomenon could be transformed into a fight without result, depending on the North American's culpability.
See the full UFC statement:
“The UFC organization has been notified that the North American Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Kelvin Gastelum regarding a potential violation of the Anti-Doping Policy involving Carboxy-Tetrahydrocannabinol (“Carboxy-THC”), which is a metabolite of marijuana and/or hashish, above the limit of 180 ng/mL, in a sample collected during the competition period in its recent fight in Fortaleza, Brazil, on March 11, 2017.
USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle results management and appropriate adjudication of the case involving Gastelum as it involves the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and future UFC participation. As the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA) was the regulatory body for the event in Fortaleza and has jurisdiction over Gastelum, USADA will work to make sure the Commission has all the information necessary to determine its own judgment for Gastelum's potential violation. . Additional information or statements from UFC will be provided at the appropriate time as the process progresses.
As a result of Gastelum's potential violation, USADA placed the fighter under a provisional suspension. Although the UFC's Anti-Doping Policy guarantees Gastelum a full and fair process prior to any possible adjudication of his case, the fighter is being removed from the June 3 card in which he would have faced Anderson Silva, and a replacement will be sought.”
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