The UFC has lifted its one-year suspension on middleweight Cung Le, due to a lack of "conclusive laboratory results" of a test administered by a UFC contracted lab on Aug. 23.
Le, 42, had planned to appeal the suspension. Had the appeal gone to a third-party arbitrator, it would have been the first time an athlete would have filed an appeal of a test result that was ordered by the UFC.
"Le had requested an appeal of his suspension and was entitled to arbitrate the drug test results and suspension," a UFC statement read. "However, based on the lack of conclusive laboratory results, UFC officials deemed it appropriate to immediately rescind the suspension without the need for further proceedings."
The UFC initially suspended Le nine months on Sept. 30, after blood tests administered in Macau, China revealed his human growth hormone (HGH) level to be 18.162 ng/mL -- above normal, according to the Hong Kong lab the UFC contracted to administer the tests. The tests were taken immediately after Le suffered a TKO loss to Michael Bisping at a UFC Fight Night. The UFC later extended the suspension to one year.
"We're very happy to hear the UFC has rescinded the suspension, although I would have liked them to absolve him as publicly as they condemned him in the first place," said Le's representative Gary Ibarra.
Le (9-3) immediately refuted accusations of performance-enhancing drug use and questioned the testing practices on Aug. 23. It was the first time the UFC had utilized blood testing at an event and the Hong Kong Functioning Medical Center is not one of 32 labs certified by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which is considered the gold standard of HGH testing in professional sports.
"I am extremely happy with the UFC's decision to rescind my suspension," Le said in a statement released Thursday. "I believe the issues raised in regards to the testing procedures as well as the manner in which the results were determined by the UFC clearly support my assertion that I did not use any performance enhancing drugs."
Le, whose physique came under some scrutiny prior to the bout, also argued the test results were medically irrelevant, pointing to a scientific study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine that found GH production in the body naturally increases during prolonged physical activity. Blood tests Le submitted to on Aug. 23 turned up negative for elevated levels of testosterone, erythropoietin (EPO) and other banned substances.
Additionally, a second sample of Le's blood -- or "B" sample -- was reportedly destroyed after the initial results were reported. Under WADA code, samples are preserved in the event of an appeal.
Usually, the responsibility of drug testing procedures falls to regulatory bodies such as state athletic commissions. The UFC is forced to self-regulate events in jurisdictions where no regulatory body is present. The UFC has stated it blood tested four total athletes at the Aug. 23 event.
According to Ibarra, Le has not yet made a decision on whether to compete again. The San Jose-based middleweight has fought just once in the last 23 months.
