Former UFC champ Lyoto Machida gets 18-month doping ban

NEWARK, NJ - APRIL 18: Lyoto Machida of Brazil looks on against Luke Rockhold in their middleweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at Prudential Center on April 18, 2015 in Newark, New Jersey.   Alex Trautwig/Getty Images/AFP

Lyoto Machida of Brazil has been slapped an 18-month suspension from MMA after failing an out-of-competition drug test. AFP

LAS VEGAS, United States — Former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida has received an 18-month suspension for failing a doping test.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced the suspension Wednesday.

USADA says the 38-year-old Machida failed an out-of-competition test in April for a prohibited anabolic agent. The organization says Machida acknowledged using the substance, claiming he didn’t know it was banned.

Machida was subsequently pulled from a bout with Dan Henderson.

Machida’s ban is retroactive to April, making him eligible to return in October 2017. His suspension was reduced from a standard two-year ban for acknowledging his mistake, USADA says.

Machida held the UFC’s 205-pound title from 2009-10. He moved to middleweight and lost a title fight to Chris Weidman in July 2014, starting off a string of three losses in his last four fights. CBB

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