WWE News: Brock Lesnar Suspended One Year After Failed Drug Tests Around UFC 200
Brock Lesnar is one of the most dominant forces in all of professional fighting, but even he isn’t immune to the rules. It has now been revealed that Lesnar failed not one, but two U.S. Anti-Doping Association drug tests during his return to MMA fighting for UFC 200. Due to these failed tests, Lesnar must pay a fine of $250,000 and serve a one-year suspension that was handed down by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
The news first broke on Thursday afternoon, and CBS Sports reports that Lesnar isn’t the only one who was given a suspension. These are accusations that came Lesnar’s way earlier this year, but he vehemently denied them and said he had not taken any banned substances and had not failed any drug tests.
It appears as if those denials were unfounded.
UFC’s Brock Lesnar to serve 1-year suspension, pay fine of $250,000. (via @bokamotoESPN) pic.twitter.com/rrzJgv9Ta1
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 15, 2016
According to CBS Sports, Jon Jones will also serve a one-year suspension after reaching a settlement agreement with the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC). Jones was pulled from the UFC 200 card earlier this year due to a failed drug test, and it has taken this time to come up with the appropriate punishment.
MMA Junkie is reporting that Brock Lesnar, Jon Jones, and Nate Diaz all reached settlement agreements with the NSAC a couple of days ago. After those agreements had been made, a hearing needed to take place to officially announce the fines and suspensions that would be given out to each fighter.
On June 28, 2016, Lesnar had the first drug test conducted out of competition. He had another drug test, in-competition, conducted on July 9, which was the day of his UFC 200 fight with Mark Hunt. Brock Lesnar won that match by unanimous decision, but the decision has now been changed and ruled a no contest.
It was possible that Brock Lesnar and Jon Jones could have ended up facing two-year bands from the NSAC and the USADA, but the agreement knocked it down. Lesnar originally denied taking any banned substances when Hunt accused him of it earlier this year.
As of now, the exact banned substance that Lesnar tested positive for has not yet been revealed to the public. It is his right to keep that information confidential. The same can be said for Jon Jones even though he said that he could not pronounce the name of the substance for which he tested positive.
Brock Lesnar’s return to MMA and UFC was seen as a one-time thing as he is under contract to WWE and preparing for another year in the ring. There has always been the idea that Lesnar could return to UFC after his contract with WWE was up, but that now seems like it won’t happen due to the suspension.
For now, Lesnar is going to continue in WWE, and he is set to wrestle at the Royal Rumble in January and likely going to be a part of WrestleMania 33 in early April. The official website for WWE Live Events does have him scheduled to appear at a few events in March as well, and that is the big build-up for WrestleMania each year.
There has been no word from WWE yet as to whether or not his UFC suspension for failed drug tests will cause any issues with Brock Lesnar’s stance in the company. It has become evident over the past decade that WWE has a no tolerance attitude when it comes to breaking the company’s wellness policy. At this time, Lesnar is next scheduled to appear and wrestle at the Royal Rumble in January when he will likely face Bill Goldberg again.
[Featured Image by WWE]
