Brock Lesnar waived from mandatory four-month USADA drug testing

A lot has changed in the UFC since Brock Lesnar last fought at UFC 141 back in 2011.

For one, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in now a part of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy for competition.

For eligibility to compete, fighters must notify the UFC of their intent to fight four months ahead of their competition to allow USADA to perform random drug testing.

Brock Lesnar signed his agreement to fight in July’s UFC 200 event on Friday, which is less than four months from the fight date.

However, the UFC Anti-Doping Policy has a clause that will allow for competition if the UFC grants an exemption.

The UFC released a statement to Yahoo Sports on the matter on Tuesday expressing their right to allow for the exemption.

“On June 6, 2016, UFC heavyweight Brock Lesnar was registered by USADA into the UFC Anti-Doping Policy testing pool. As part of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, UFC may grant a former athlete an exemption to the four-month written notice rules in exceptional circumstances or where the strict application of that rule would be manifestly unfair to an athlete. Given Lesnar last competed in UFC on December 30, 2011, long before the UFC Anti-Doping Policy went into effect, for purposes of the Anti-Doping Policy, he is being treated similarly to a new athlete coming into the organization.

“While conversations with the heavyweight have been ongoing for some time, Lesnar required permission from WWE to compete in UFC 200 and only agreed to terms and signed a bout agreement last Friday. He was therefore unable to officially start the Anti-Doping Policy process any earlier. UFC, however, did notify Lesnar in the early stages of discussions that if he were to sign with the UFC, he would be subject to all of the anti-doping rules. Lesnar and his management have now been formally educated by USADA on the policy, procedures and expectations.”

Video | Conor McGregor
[ooyala code=”V5YzVtMzE6jeckpWLmgdjLNoqEDq12YM” player_id=”bd214e34cfad476984102de4bf5e8da2″ auto=”true” width=”1280″ height=”1280″ autoplay=”true”]