Former UFC champion BJ Penn has been pulled by the UFC from a scheduled comeback bout against Cole Miller on June 4 because of a potential doping violation.
In a statement, the UFC said it was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) informed BJ Penn of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation. The statement further reads that Penn disclosed the usage of a prohibited method — the use of an IV in excess of 50 ML in a six-hour period — during a March 25, out-of-competition sample collection. It was also announced by the UFC that it is presently looking out for another opponent for Miller on the UFC 199 card at Inglewood,California. The UFC remarked it will announce a replacement opponent for Miller shortly.
According to the World Anti-Doping Agency Code, intravenous infusions and/or injections of more than 50 ML per 6 hour period are prohibited except for those legitimately received in the course of hospital admissions, surgical procedures or clinical investigations. Since Penn did not fall into any of these categories, USADA flagged him for a potential violation after he disclosed his IV use.
Penn, issued a statement via his website, in which he announced he voluntarily disclosed to USADA that during a non-fight period that he had an IV administered under the care of a doctor. The former UFC champion said the rule for IV usage had changed since his last fight in the UFC and was unaware of the change and voluntarily disclosed the information to USADA and added he had no idea that IV use was banned 365 days a year, The statement of Penn further reads he has never doped at any time in his career and added he anticipates test results from USADA will come back clean and said he will be working with the UFC to get the matter cleared up and return to fight as soon as possible.
Penn (16-10-2) has not won a fight since he knocked out Matt Hughes in 21 seconds in a non-title bout at UFC 123 in November 2010. Since then, Penn is 0-3-1, with losses to Frankie Edgar, Rory MacDonald and Nick Diaz and his bout against Miller at UFC 199 was scheduled to be fought at 145 pounds.
Penn, arguably the greatest lightweight of all time, has been preparing hard for his comeback at Jackson-Wink MMA inAlbuquerque. The American professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner was the first American Gold medalist of the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship. He has competed in the Featherweight, Lightweight, Welterweight, Middleweight, and Heavyweight divisions in mixed martial arts. Penn, during his reign, holds the distinction of being undefeated as a Lightweight for over eight years that spanned a nine-fight unbeaten streak in the division. UFC President Dana White credits Penn as the first crossover pay-per-view star for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s lighter weight divisions and the man who brought the lower weight divisions into the mainstream of mixed martial arts.
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