Guilherme Cruz, MMA Fighting
Brazilian athlete Lara Procopio has been sanctioned by the United States Anti-Doping Agency after a failed drug test, but she has already served her suspension.
On Monday, USADA officials announced that Procopio was issued a six-month suspension under the UFC’s anti-doping policy after she tested positive for ostarine during an out-of-competition sample collection on Feb. 17.
Ostarine is a banned substance defined as a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) and is illegal at all times for athletes. The drug has been commonly found in supplements with numerous cases involving UFC athletes over the past few years.
“Following notification of her positive test, Fritzen Procopio provided an open container of a dietary supplement she obtained from a Brazilian compounding pharmacy that she was using prior to her positive test, and which she declared on her doping control form, for analysis at a WADA-accredited laboratory,” USADA officials wrote in a statement.
“Although no prohibited substances were listed on the supplement label, the analysis revealed the presence of ostarine in the product. Delays in supplement testing were caused by laboratory closures due to COVID-19.”
Compounding pharmacies actually mix all of the ingredients for a medication in house before distribution. Former heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos faced a similar issue when he was pulled from a fight after testing positive for a banned substance and it was later discovered that he had been a victim of a tainted product mixed at a compounding pharmacy.
“Under the current UFC [anti-doping program], if a situation arises where an athlete tests positive and is able to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that the cause of the positive test was due to a supplement certified by one of the certifiers in the UFC rules, he or she will not be subject to an anti-doping policy violation and will be permitted to compete after follow-up testing and when there is no performance enhancing benefit in question,” USADA officials explained.
“In this case, the supplement Fritzen Procopio identified was not a Certified Supplement, and she is therefore subject to an anti-doping policy violation.”
Ultimately, Propocio faced a six-month suspension backdated to the time her test was taken in February, which means she’s already served out her sanction and should be cleared to return to action.
Procopio is currently 0-1 in her UFC career with a loss to Karol Rosa in her lone appearance inside the octagon.