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Marc RaimondiESPN
Neil Magny revealed the reason he is out of Saturday’s UFC Rochester co-main event: a failed drug test.
The veteran UFC welterweight wrote on social media Tuesday that he is facing a UFC anti-doping policy violation after testing positive for the prohibited substance LGD-4033. Magny wrote that he was informed of the situation by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, the UFC’s anti-doping partner, on Saturday.
Magny was supposed to fight Vicente Luque in the co-headliner of the card in upstate New York. The UFC is still seeking a replacement to fight Luque.
The failed drug test stems from a sample collected May 5, Magny wrote. Magny denied that he knowingly took the banned substance in his social media post and said he is “fully cooperating with USADA” in order to find out how it got into his system.
“I am fully cooperating with USADA to determine how this substance was found in the sample I provided them on May 5, 2019,” Magny wrote. “I have always been an advocate for the strict drug testing in the UFC, even to the extent of opting for my collected samples to be used for research purposes by USADA. I know without a doubt that I have done everything according to the standards set by USADA. I have faith in USADA that this situation will resolved in a timely manner and that I will be cleared of any wrong doing. To all of my fans and supporters, thank you. I assure you that I have not let you down.”
LGD-4033 is a selective androgen receptor module (SARM), in the same family as ostarine, which USADA recently determined is frequently found in contaminated dietary supplements. SARMs have similar benefits to anabolic steroids, though lesser, and carry a two-year maximum suspension from USADA.
UFC heavyweight Walt Harris tested positive for LGD-4033 in relation to UFC 232 in December. He was suspended four months by USADA and the California State Athletic Commission after he was able to prove the positive test was due to a tainted supplement.
Magny (21-7) is a perennial welterweight contender in the UFC, one of the division’s most consistent fighters. The Colorado resident last fought at UFC Buenos Aires in November, falling to Santiago Ponzinibbio by fourth-round knockout. Magny, 31, was on a two-fight winning streak heading into that bout.