Anyanwu accepts 1-year USADA suspension for failed drug test

UFC heavyweight Zu Anyanwu has accepted a one-year suspension following a failed drug test that stemmed from an out-of-competition sample collected on Oct. 18, according to MMA Junkie, citing an official press release.

USADA announced today that UFC athlete, Azunna Anyanwu, of Bensalem, Pa., has tested positive for a prohibited substance and accepted the standard one-year sanction for his anti-doping policy violation.

Anyanwu, 36, tested positive for furosemide following an out-of-competition urine test conducted on October 18, 2017. Furosemide is a Specified Substance in the class of Diuretics and Masking Agents and prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, which has adopted the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List.

Anyanwu’s one-year period of ineligibility began on October 18, 2017, the date his positive sample was collected.

Pursuant to the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, all UFC athletes serving a period of ineligibility for an anti-doping policy violation are required to continue to make themselves available for testing in order to receive credit for time completed under their sanction.

The UFC had previously announced Anyanwu had been flagged on Nov. 3. The USADA confirmed that the suspension is retroactive to Oct. 18, and that Anyanwu will be able to make his return on the same date in 2018.