Ovine Saint Preux latest UFC fighter accepting USADA sanction for tainted supplement

USADA announced on Friday that Ovince Saint Preux, of Knoxville, Tenn., has accepted a three-month sanction for a violation of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy after testing positive for prohibited substances. 

Saint Preux, 36, tested positive for ostarine and di-hydroxy-LGD-4033, a metabolite of LGD-4033, as well GW1516 sulfone and GW1516 sulfoxide, which are metabolites of GW1516 (also known as GW-501516), as the result of an out-of-competition urine sample he provided on November 1, 2019. Ostarine and LGD-4033 are non-Specified Substances in the class of Anabolic Agents, while GW1516 is a non-Specified Substance in the category of Hormone and Metabolic Modulators. These substances are prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and UFC Prohibited List.

During an investigation into the circumstances of the positive test, Saint Preux provided sealed containers of products he was using for analysis at the World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited laboratory in Salt Lake City, Utah. Although no prohibited substances were listed on the supplement labels, the analysis revealed that the products contained ostarine, LGD-4033, and GW1516 for which Saint Preux tested positive.

On November 25, 2019, revisions to the UFC Anti-Doping Policy were announced. Under the revised UFC Anti-Doping Policy, if a situation arises where an athlete tests positive and is able to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that the cause of the positive test was due to a supplement certified by one of the certifiers in the UFC rules, he or she will not be subject to an anti-doping policy violation and will be permitted to compete after follow-up testing and when there is no performance enhancing benefit in question.

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USADA determined that Saint Preux’s exposure to these substances began on October 25, 2019, prior to the current UFC Anti-Doping Policy being announced. Although Saint Preux was not using a Certified Supplement, he received a reduction to his period of ineligibility because he was able to prove that his positive test was caused by contaminated products and the very low levels detected in the products would not have enhanced his performance.  

Under the current and previous version of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, athletes may receive a reduced sanction if they prove their positive test was caused by a contaminated product, but athletes who do not use one of the Certified Supplements designated in the UFC Anti-Doping Policy in light of the clear opportunity and benefit to do so should expect to receive a lengthier sanction. Saint Preux’s three-month period of ineligibility began on October 25, 2019, the date he began using the products containing prohibited substances.

With Saint Preux’s three-month suspension beginning on October 25, he is already eligible to return to action.