Carlos Diego Ferreira suspended 17 months for violating USADA policy

Carlos Diego Ferreira has accepted a 17-month suspension for violating the USADA's anti-doping policy.

According to a statement from the UFC's anti-doping partner, the lightweight was flagged for a pair of banned substances found in an out-of-competition sample collected on April 29. Ferreira had admitted to taking a supplement containing the illicit ingredient 7-keto-DHEA prior to the test, and the ensuing results also revealed traces of ostarine in his system.

The Brazilian claimed he was unaware the former substance had been banned, while the supplement in question was reportedly tainted with ostarine. Ferreira was handed 17 months as opposed to the standard two-year penance as a result.

The 31-year-old was already suspended for one year by the Nevada Athletic Commission back in May, and the USADA-sanctioned ban is retroactive to the drug test's date, meaning he'll be eligible to return to active competition in September 2017.

Ferreira last fought this past January, taking a unanimous decision over Olivier Aubin-Mercier. He holds a UFC record of 3-2.