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Yair Rodriguez will have to wait until 2021 to resume his career.
The featherweight contender received a six-month suspension from the United States Anti-Doping Agency for violating UFC anti-doping policy by failing to declare his position for testing on three occasions in the past 12 months.
USADA officials made the announcement Thursday
“Like all UFC athletes, Rodriguez, 28, is a member of the UFC target group and is therefore subject to certain whereabouts responsibilities, which allows him to be located for testing,” said USADA officials wrote in a statement. “Accurate whereabouts information is a critical component of an effective out-of-competition testing program, as it enables anti-doping organizations to conduct sample collections without notice, which helps maintain effective deterrence and detection of the victim. doping.
“Rodriguez did not update his whereabouts information and was not available for testing at the locations indicated in his whereabouts documents on three occasions. He has accumulated one whereabouts breach in each of the first three quarters of 2020. The accumulation of three whereabouts breaches over a 12-month period constitutes a violation of UFC anti-doping policy. “
USADA officials added that Rodriguez was eligible for a reduced sentence because “his conduct did not raise the suspicion that he was trying to avoid being available for testing.”
UFC President Dana White recently hinted that Rodriguez would be sidelined in the immediate future after being linked with a fight with Zabit Magomedsharipov earlier this year.
“I don’t think he’s going to fight anytime soon,” White said at the UFC Vegas 15 post-fight press conference. “I don’t know what the problem is. It’s none of my business what’s going on there. When it comes out, it will come out. This is not the business of the UFC. When they figure it out, they’ll let us know.
Rodriguez’s suspension was made retroactive to September 8, when his third locate failure was declared.
This means that he will be able to return after March 8, 2021.
With a UFC record of 8-1 (1 NC), Rodriguez was billed as one of the sport’s top prospects before becoming a top contender in the featherweight division. After an incredible last-second knockout against Chan Sung Jung, “The Korean Zombie,” Rodriguez won the Fight of the Night award for a back-and-forth war against Jeremy Stephens in his last appearance in October 2019.
Sadly, Rodriguez hasn’t been able to compete since then and now it looks like he’ll have to wait until March 2021 to book his next fight.
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