UFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell suspended for two years after failed drug test

It all went a bit quiet after Ben Rothwell’s failed drug tests last year, but the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has revealed that ‘Big Ben’ has accepted a two-year suspension and will not be eligible to compete in the UFC until Feb. 6, 2019. MMA Fighting’s Alexander K. Leeconfirmed the news on Friday.

Rothwell, a heavyweight veteran of seventeen years, tested positive for “an anabolic androgenic steroid of exogenous origin” in two out-of-competition two drug tests on Feb. 6 and Feb. 15, 2017, when he was pulled from his scheduled bout with Fabricio Werdum at UFC 211.

Rothwell, 36, also tested positive for elevated testosterone levels after his TKO win overBrandon Vera in 2013 and was suspended for nine months by the UFC.

The former top-ten heavyweight contender argued that his latest failed tests stemmed from a doctor’s prescription for testosterone, but USADA concluded that he wasn’t eligible for a Therapeutic Use Exemption for the banned substance he tested positive for.

Rothwell was on the verge of title contention before dropping a unanimous decision to former heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos at UFC Fight Night 86. The HW slugger netted four back to back wins over Vera, Alistair Overeem, Matt Mitrione, and Josh Barnett before losing to JDS in 2016.

Rothwell’s suspension is retroactive from his first failed drug test on Feb. 6, 2017, which means the Wisconsin local has another ten months before he can return to the UFC.