‘I Didn’t Know It Was Doping’

Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Thiago Santos, who went five rounds with Jon Jones on a pair of wonky legs, was hoping to make a clean start under the PFL banner after wrapping up his Octagon duties back in late 2022.

Instead, he pissed dirty and drew a suspension from Nevada State Athletic Commission.

“Unfortunately, I made the mistake of trusting someone else,” Santos told Ag Fight (translated by Bloody Elbow). “I went to the doctor and tried asking for something that could improve my conditioning while training. He prescribed this supplement to me. I didn’t know it was doping, so I trusted him and took it. I was super surprised when I got caught doping. When I got caught, I showed USADA everything, I never denied anything. I said ‘This is what I took, I have the doctor’s prescription right here’.”

Santos, now 40, dropped a unanimous decision to Rob Wilkinson in his PFL debut but the fight was later overturned to a No Contest because Wilkinson also flunked his pre-fight drug test and got benched for the rest of the 2023 season.

“I didn’t know that was doping,” Santos continued. “It’s clear, though. You’re responsible for everything you put in your body. Unfortunately, I made that mistake. Because it was a supplement, I didn’t think it wasn’t clean testosterone. That’s why USADA told me: ‘We’re giving you the smallest punishment possible, which is six months. We can’t give you any less than that’. That’s what happened. A silly mistake. It wasn’t anything that would give me an advantage during the fight. I paid for it and now it’s time to move on.”

Santos (22-11, 1 NC) returns against fellow UFC veteran Yoel Romero at the PFL vs. Bellator “Champions” event later this month in Riyadh.