Why was Yair Rodriguez banned by USADA?
Prior to his bout with Max Holloway, Yair Rodriguez served a six month suspension for violating USADA's anti drug policy.
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Yair Rodriguez (Image via : MMA Mania)
Former UFC interim featherweight champion, Yair Rodriguez is one of the most interesting fighters to watch on the roster. Through his creative striking and agility, he has gained the nickname El Pantera.
Although many fighters have tested positive for illegal substances ever since USADA entered the UFC, Rodriguez managed to keep his record clean. While the former interim featherweight champion has had a non-controversial journey, he has a small blemish on his otherwise clean career. The Mexican was once handed a six-month suspension by the USADA for violating its anti-doping policy.
Was Yair Rodriguez suspended for using illegal substances?
Rodriguez received a six-month suspension from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in 2020 for violating its policy. El Pantera is a registered member of USADA’s testing pool. This subjects him to give his accurate whereabouts for him to be located for testing. However, Rodriguez failed to file his location three times in 12 months.
According to USADA, “Accurate Whereabouts information is a crucial component of an effective out-of-competition testing program. It enables anti-doping organizations to conduct no-notice sample collections, which helps maintain effective doping deterrence and detection.”
Rodriguez failed to update his location and was not present for testing at the locations he filed in his whereabouts. Rodriguez repeated the same error thrice and was handed a six-month suspension. However, El Pantera was also eligible for a reduction in his sentence as he was not actively trying to avoid the testing.
According to Rodriguez, fighters have an app on their phones where they have to notify the USADA every time they change locations. El Pantera calls himself a Nomad and keeps losing track of updating his information. While his nomadic lifestyle caused a serious issue, Rodriguez assured that he had people to handle such matters.
Yair Rodriguez’s fights after his six-month suspension
After the suspension, Rodriguez was eligible to enter the octagon after March 8, 2021. He faced former featherweight champion, Max Holloway for his return to the octagon. However, Holloway won the fight via unanimous decision gatekeeping the title shot from any contenders. Regardless, Rodriguez won back-to-back fights against Brian Ortega and Josh Emmett. He became the interim featherweight champion at UFC 284 against Josh Emmett.
El Pantera then faced Alexander Volkanovski to unify the titles, but unfortunately came up short. The bout happened on International Fight Week at UFC 290. Now, Rodriguez is set to take on Brian Ortega again at UFC Fight Night Mexico, hoping to take a step toward new featherweight champion, Ilia Topuria.
FAQs
No, Yair Rodriguez never tested positive for illegal substances.
Yair Rodriguez was suspended for six months for violating USADA’s anti-doping policy.
Due to Yair Rodriguez’s nomad lifestyle, he failed to update his whereabouts.
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Viraj Kelshikar
(227 Articles Published)