Walt Harris accepts USADA sanction, win over Arlovski overturned

UFC heavyweight Walt Harris has accepted a four-month sanction from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) after testing positive for the anabolic agent LGD-4033. In addition, Harris’ UFC 232 split decision victory over former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski has been overturned to a no-contest.

USADA announced this news in a release, explaining that Harris’ violation was the result of his use of a tainted supplement:

USADA announced today that Walt Harris, of Homewood, Ala., has accepted a four-month sanction for a violation of the UFC® Anti-Doping Policy after testing positive for a prohibited substance from a contaminated supplement.

Harris, 35, tested positive for LGD-4033 as the result of an in-competition urine sample he provided on December 29, 2018 that was collected by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) at UFC 232 in Inglewood, Calif. LGD-4033 is a non-Specified Substance in the class of Anabolic Agents and prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy (UFC ADP), which has adopted the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List.

Following notification of his positive test, Harris provided USADA with information about a dietary supplement product he was using before and at the time of the relevant sample collection. Although no prohibited substances were listed on the supplement label, analysis conducted on both the open and independently sourced, unopened containers of the product by the WADA-accredited laboratory in Salt Lake City, Utah, indicated that the product contained LGD-4033.

The presence of an undisclosed prohibited substance in a product is regarded as contamination. Accordingly, the product has since been added to the list of high-risk supplements maintained on USADA’s online dietary supplement safety education and awareness resource – Supplement 411 (www.Supplement411.org).

Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, as well as the World Anti-Doping Code, the determination that an athlete’s positive test was caused by a contaminated product may result in a reduced sanction. Where contamination is established, the sanction for a doping offense involving a non-Specified Substance ranges from a reprimand and no period of ineligibility, at a minimum, to a two-year period of ineligibility, at a maximum.

CSAC announced a four-month suspension and $4,000 fine stemming from Harris’ December 29, 2018 sample CSAC collected. Taking into consideration the circumstances that resulted in Harris’ positive test and CSAC’s suspension and fine, USADA has determined that a four-month period of ineligibility is an appropriate sanction under the UFC ADP for his violation.

Harris’ four-month period of ineligibility began on December 29, 2018, the date his positive sample was collected. Under the rules, any decision concerning competition results is handled by the Commission and the UFC.

Because this suspension is retroactive to December 29, 2018, Walt Harris will be eligible to fight again on April 29, 2019.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 4/23/2019.