One of the UFC's longest-tenured lightweights, Gleison Tibau, has been provisionally suspended by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for a "potential Anti-Doping Policy violation."
UFC officials announced the suspension on Friday. According to a release, the violation stems from an out-of-competition test.
Tibau, 32, recorded a first-round submission win against Abel Trujillo early last month. It is currently unknown when the potential violation took place, so the result of that win will hold for now. Tibau (34-11) trains out of American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, and is second all-time in UFC appearances with 26. He trails only former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, who has 27.
The UFC implemented its new anti-doping policy on July 1. According to statistics on the USADA website, the program has administered 261 total tests on 131 rostered athletes so far. Tibau is the second athlete to face punishment under the new program. Heavyweight Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic was suspended for two years following a failed test last month.
This announcement potentially marks the first failed drug test of Tibau's career. His win against Trujillo came under some controversy. The submission result was directly due to a refereeing error, as the fight was stopped despite no tap from Trujillo. It was the 14th submission victory of Tibau's career.
