Fabricio Werdum’s career will be put on hold until at least 2020.
The former UFC heavyweight champion was formally given a two-year suspension from USADA on Tuesday as a result of a failed drug test earlier this year.
Werdum, 41, tested positive for the anabolic steroid trenbolone and its metabolite epitrenbolone in an out-of-competition urine screening conducted on April 25 in advance of his scheduled UFC Moscow fight against Aleksei Oleinik.
Werdum was subsequently removed from the fight following the failed test and replaced by Mark Hunt, who fights Oleinik at UFC Moscow this weekend.
Werdum (23-8-1) is widely considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of his era. The Brazilian’s best chapter stretched from 2012 to 2015 when he racked up a 6-0 run and unified the UFC heavyweight title with a submission victory over Cain Velasquez. Werdum defeated Hunt, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Travis Browne, and Roy Nelson over that span. He also holds a notable 69-second upset over legendary Russian heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko from 2010.
According to USADA, Werdum’s two-year suspension started retroactively on May 22 — the date of his provisional suspension — meaning the earliest Werdum will be eligible to compete is on May 22, 2020. He will be 43 years old.
