|
|
  - DIEGO SANCHEZ FAILED DRUG TEST AFTER UFC FIGHT IN DECEMBER
Friday, March 23, 2007 - by Ivan Trembow - MMAWeekly.com
Ultimate Fighting Championship star Diego Sanchez tested positive for marijuana after his December 13th victory over Joe Riggs and was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission.
The UFC welterweight contender and Ultimate Fighter Season One winner knocked out Riggs in the main event of UFC Fight Night 7, which took place in San Diego, California at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and aired live on Spike TV.
At some point following Sanchez' failure of the drug test, he was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission for three months from the date of the fight, which means that his suspension has already expired. The CSAC also fined Sanchez $500 (his purse for the fight was $32,000).
The news of Sanchez' positive test was first reported on Thursday by Carlos Arias of the Orange County Register. In the three months following the Sanchez-Riggs fight and prior to Arias' report, the California State Athletic Commission did not announce or disclose Sanchez' drug test failure.
In addition, the UFC did not acknowledge Sanchez' drug test failure on its web site, despite the fact that the company has posted brief stories on its web site acknowledging all other drug test failures for UFC fighters since the beginning of 2006, including Thiago Alves' positive test for a banned diuretic just a few weeks after Sanchez' positive test for marijuana.
When asked why the California State Athletic Commission did not previously disclose or announce Sanchez' positive drug test, CSAC Executive Officer Armando Garcia said to MMAWeekly, "No one made any requests for public records on it." Garcia also said that the CSAC would make information about any positive drug tests in the future readily available to media outlets.
When asked why the UFC did not acknowledge Sanchez' drug test failure on its web site, as it has for all other UFC drug test failures over the past year, the UFC did not respond.
Sanchez' next scheduled fight is against Josh Koscheck at UFC 69 in Houston, Texas on April 7th. His positive drug test will not affect his availability to fight on the UFC 69 card, due to the fact that his suspension has already expired. Sanchez has a 17-0 professional record in MMA and is currently the world's #4 Welterweight in the MMAWeekly Rankings.
It is fairly uncommon for fighters in the UFC to fight more often than once every three months under normal circumstances, so a three-month suspension may or may not change any given UFC fighter's schedule in any tangible way.
The CSAC's Garcia said to MMAWeekly that a three-month suspension and $500 fine is the most common punishment for MMA fighters who test positive for marijuana in the state of California. In Nevada, the typical punishment for a positive marijuana test is a six-month suspension. Since the beginning of this year alone, there have been two MMA fighters who have tested positive for marijuana in Nevada: Pride's Nick Diaz and the WEC's Joe Pearson, neither of whom have had their NSAC disciplinary hearings as of yet.
Garcia also said that the California State Athletic Commission is planning to implement new drug testing procedures in the near future, which will include drug testing more fighters than any other state. Under the CSAC's new procedures, all fighters will be tested for recreational drugs, and approximately 25 fighters per month will be tested for steroids.
BACK TO THE NEWS
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Related Articles :
- - UFC FIGHTERS PASS DRUG TESTS (Friday, March 16, 2007)
The drug test results have come back from UFC 68, and all of the fighters who were tested at the event tested negative for banned substances...
- - BREAKING NEWS: NICK DIAZ FAILS DRUG TEST (Monday, March 05, 2007)
Breaking News on MMAWeekly: Nick Diaz has failed the drug test that he took following his win over Takanori Gomi at Pride 33: The Second Coming...
- - KEVIN RANDLEMAN AT A CROSSROADS (Sunday, February 18, 2007)
The last year and a half has been a very turbulent time in the life of Pride and UFC veteran Kevin Randleman. With his body ravaged by a severe infection, Randleman's journey has had twists, turns, and close calls.
- - IN-DEPTH: COMMISSION HEARINGS FOR RANDLEMAN, YVEL, ALVES, TOUGHILL, & CARVALHO (Friday, February 16, 2007)
Kevin Randleman, Thiago Alves, and Aaron Carvalho have each been suspended as a result of their recent drug test failures, while Gilbert Yvel has been denied a fighters' license in Nevada and Erin Toughill has been granted one. MMAWeekly's in-depth coverage of all five cases is inside...
- - BREAKING NEWS: WEC'S JOE PEARSON FAILS DRUG TEST (Monday, January 29, 2007)
Joe Pearson, who fought for the WEC Featherweight Title at the first Zuffa-owned WEC event on January 20th, has tested positive for a metabolite form of the active ingredient in marijuana...
- - KIT COPE TESTS POSITIVE FOR STEROIDS (Thursday, January 25, 2007)
A report from the Nevada State Athletic Commission states that Kit Cope has tested positive for steroids; Cope does not deny it...
- - NSAC: THIAGO ALVES POSITIVE FOR DIURETIC (Friday, January 05, 2007)
Thiago Alves has tested positive for the diuretic Spironolactone, a banned substance, according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission...
- - VITOR BELFORT & PAWEL NASTULA SUSPENDED (Thursday, December 21, 2006)
Breaking News on MMAWeekly: Vitor Belfort and Pawel Nastula have each been suspended for nine months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission as a result of their positive tests for banned substances. In-depth coverage inside...
- - A NIGHTMARE COME TRUE: DIEGO BY KO AT UFC FIGHT NIGHT (Thursday, December 14, 2006)
Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez improved his unbeaten record to 19-0 with the first ever knockout of Joe "Diesel" Riggs...
- - VITOR BELFORT RESPONDS TO STEROID CHARGE (Friday, November 10, 2006)
Pride and UFC veteran Vitor Belfort has responded to the Nevada State Athletic Commission's charges that he had anabolic steroids in his system when he fought on Pride's October 21st card in Las Vegas, Nevada...
- - RANDLEMAN CHARGED WITH FAKING URINE TEST (Wednesday, November 08, 2006)
MMAWeekly has learned that Kevin Randleman has been charged by the Nevada State Athletic Commission with providing a fake urine sample for the drug test that he took after his fight on the Pride card in Las Vegas on October 21st...
- - BONNAR SUSPENDED 9 MONTHS FOR STEROID USE (Friday, November 03, 2006)
Stephan Bonnar has been suspended for nine months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission as a result of Bonnar's positive test for anabolic steroids following his fight against Forrest Griffin at UFC 62...
- - VITOR BELFORT & PAWEL NASTULA TEST POSITIVE (UPDATED) (Thursday, October 26, 2006)
Breaking News: MMAWeekly has learned that Vitor Belfort and Pawel Nastula tested positive for banned substances after their respective fights on Pride's "Real Deal" card this past Saturday night in Las Vegas, Nevada...
- - STEPHAN BONNAR TESTS POSITIVE FOR ANABOLIC STEROID (Wednesday, September 06, 2006)
In a developing news story that broke on Wednesday's edition of MMAWeekly Radio, MMAWeekly has learned that Stephan Bonnar tested positive for an anabolic steroid after his fight against Forrest Griffin at UFC 62...
- - EXCLUSIVE: KIMO SPEAKS OUT ABOUT DRUG TEST (Monday, July 31, 2006)
Kimo Leopoldo spoke exclusively with MMAWeekly about the series of events that led up to his positive test for steroids, his removal from the WFA's pay-per-view event, and his immediate future...
- - KIMO FAILS DRUG TEST, WILL NOT FIGHT BAS RUTTEN (Thursday, July 20, 2006)
Kimo Leopoldo has been pulled from the co-main event of the WFA's King of the Streets card due to his failure of a pre-fight drug test...
Copyright 2009 MMA Weekly LLC. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of MMA Weekly content is expressly prohibited without expressed written consent of MMA Weekly. MMA Weekly will not be liable for any errors in content or any action taken in reliance thereof.
|
|
|
|
