A UFC veteran has been suspended two years for testing positive for four banned substances.
C.B. Dollaway tested positive for anastrozole, growth hormone releasing peptide 2 (GHRP-2) and growth hormone releasing peptide 6 (GHRP-6) in an out-of-competition drug test stemming from a sample collected Dec. 19, 2018, UFC anti-doping partner USADA announced Monday. Dollaway also failed a drug test for anti-estrogen agent clomiphene stemming from a subsequent sample collected Feb. 9, 2019.
Anastrozole, a drug used clinically for chemotherapy in breast cancer patients, is an estrogen blocker that can increase testosterone levels in men. The growth hormone releasing peptides can stimulate plasma growth hormone production.
In addition to the positive drug tests, Dollaway received a prohibited intravenous (IV) infusion on Dec. 13, 2018. All of these infractions are being treated as one anti-doping violation, because a USADA investigation concluded that the ingestion of all the prohibited substances occurred before Dollaway was informed of any failed drug tests on Jan. 11, 2019.
Dollaway's two-year suspension is retroactive to Dec. 13, 2018, so he can return to UFC competition in December 2020.
In a statement posted on his social media Monday, Dollaway said he did not knowingly take the banned substances. He wrote that he believes he ingested them while getting stem cell treatments for a back injury in Mexico. Dollaway wrote that his health insurance was capped out and he needed an "alternative solution" to carry on his MMA career.
Dollaway (17-9) is coming off a TKO loss in September 2018 to Khalid Murtazaliev, who coincidentally is also now under a two-year USADA suspension for an anti-doping violation. A veteran of "The Ultimate Fighter," Dollaway was on a two-fight winning streak heading into that bout. Dollaway, 36, holds an 11-9 record in the UFC going back to 2008.
