C.B. Dollaway no longer with UFC, will take on Jiri Prochazka for Rizin light heavyweight title

C.B. Dollaway will be returning to action sooner than expected.

Dollaway (17-9 MMA, 11-9 UFC), who’s currently serving a two-year U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspension for testing positive for multiple banned substances, is no longer with the UFC, and will be competing for Rizin FF on Dec. 31.

He takes reigning champ Jiri Prochazka for the promotion’s light heavyweight title at Rizin FF 20, which takes place at Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

Dollaway was flagged by USADA in August, testing positive for anastrozole, and clomiphene in an out-of-competition sample. He also went over the allowable limit in an intravenous (IV) infusion on Dec. 13, 2018.

He was eligible to return to competition in December 2020, but since Rizin does not recognize suspensions handed by an American anti-doping agency like USADA, he is able to return to action before his suspension is up.

“The Ultimate Fighter 7” alum ends his 11-year UFC tenure having compiled a record of 11-9. He last competed in September 2018 in a second-round doctor’s stoppage loss to Khalid Murtazaliev in Russia.

His opponent, Prochazka, is the current Rizin light heavyweight champ and has won his last nine in a row, including back-to-back wins over big-show vets Muhammad Lawal and Fabio Maldonado.

With the addition to the card, Rizin FF 20 now includes:

• Kai Asakura vs. opponent TBA – for vacant bantamweight title
• Champ Ayaka Hamasaki vs. Seo Hee Ham – for super atomweight title
• Champ Jiri Prochazka vs. C.B. Dollaway – for light heavyweight title
• Johnny Case vs. Tofiq Musaev – lightweight grand prix semifinal
• Patricky Freire vs. Luiz Gustavo – lightweight grand prix semifinal
• Patrick Mix vs. Yuki Motoya
• Mikuru Asakura vs. John Teixeira
• Rena Kubota vs. Lindsey VanZandt