SAO PAULO, Brazil — Antonio Rogerio Nogueira was flagged for a potential anti-doping violation, but insists on his innocence.

The 41-year-old veteran, who tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide in an out-of-competition test by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), told the media in Sao Paulo, a day before the UFC Fight Night 119, that he asked for his ‘B’ sample to be tested.

“We’re waiting for the results of the ‘B’ sample on Wednesday, and waiting to see what happened,” Nogueira said. “It must have been some tainted supplement because it was a small amount of diuretic.

“It’s funny because we did three tests. The first came back negative, the second was positive, and the third was negative. I’ve been taking the same supplements, that’s why we had the ‘B’ sample tested to find out what really happened.”

“Minotouro” was pulled from a UFC on FOX 26 clash with Jared Cannonier on Dec. 16 due to the positive test, and said this situation is “hard to digest.”

The Brazilian fighter expects to “get the shortest suspension possible and, with that, come back to fighting soon.”

“It feels bad,” Nogueira said. “I was waiting for this fight to close the year. I haven’t fought this year because of an injury, I had to pull out of a fight, and now a second fight is off. I was physically well for this second fight, so I’m bummed and disappointed.”

Nogueira (22-8) hasn’t fought since November 2016, when he lost a main event bout with Ryan Bader.