MMA HQ – Mixed Martial Arts News and Analysis

Dave Meltzer is reporting that Chris Leben has tested positive for the banned substance Stanazolol and has been suspended by the UFC directly.

Leben tested positive following his recent fight against Michael Bisping at UFC 89 which was held in Birmingham, England. Since the event was held in England, it was not regulated by any athletic commission, but the UFC tested fighters on their own accord. Leben was suspended for nine months and fined one-third of his fight purse.

“I am obviously disappointed with Chris, who has made great strides getting his life back on track,” said UFC president Dana White. “To his credit, he has taken responsibility for his actions and is accepting the punishment that has been handed down. But as always, the UFC puts the safety of its athletes first and foremost, and we won’t tolerate anyone using performance enhancing drugs in our organization.”

“I’ve really done everything I can to turn my life around,” said Leben.

“And this is a huge setback for me. But it’s something I will have to deal with. During my time off from fighting, I want to speak to kids about the dangers of using performance enhancing agents and let them know it just doesn’t get you ahead in life. Of course, this is a hard hit for me monetarily, but more so this is embarrassing for me and for all my fans.”

White said that Leben admitted to him using the drug, also known as Winstrol V, but believed it had enough time to clear his system. Leben, 18-5, one of the company’s most well-known fighters stemming from his appearance on the first season of Ultimate Fighter, said he used the drug shortly after his win over Alessio Sakara in March. While usually clearing your system in about three weeks, Stanazolol can show up in tests for several months.

The UFC reportedly tested all 22 fighters from UFC 89 both before and after their fights with Leben being the only fighter who tested positive for any banned substances.

While this is bad news for Chris Leben, I think overall this is excellent news for the UFC. This shows the organization is willing to not only test fighters for banned substances when they aren’t technically required to, but they also are not covering up failed tests and are fining and suspending fighters on their own.