UFC light heavyweight Marcos Rogerio de Lima has been pulled from his scheduled Sept. 2 bout against Saparbek Safarov at UFC Fight Night 115 after being flagged by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for a potential anti-doping violation, the UFC announced Friday.
De Lima’s potential violation stems from an out-of-competition sample collected on Aug. 1, according to a statement released by the UFC. As a result, the 32-year-old Brazilian has been provisionally suspended by USADA.
The UFC did not reveal the banned substance that resulted in de Lima’s potential violation.
De Lima (15-5-1) was slated to battle Dagestani light heavyweight Safarov at UFC Fight Night 115. The UFC is currently seeking a replacement to keep Safarov on the card.
De Lima is a four-year UFC veteran who was the first overall pick on the third season of The Ultimate Fight Brazil. “Pezao” has since competed seven times inside the Octagon, compiling a 4-3 record while competing as high as the heavyweight division.
All four of de Lima’s UFC victories have come via first-round stoppage, highlighted by wins over Clint Hester and Jeremy Kimball. De Lima suffered defeat in his most recent outing, succumbing to a second-round Von Flue choke at the hands of Ovince Saint Preux at UFC Fight Night 108.
UFC Fight Night 115 takes place at the Ahoy Rotterdam in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The card is headlined by a heavyweight battle between Alexander Volkov and Stefan Struve.
More News
UFC269: Venezuelan Julianna Peña Submits Brazilian Amanda Nunes, Becomes the new UFC World Champion
Oliveira, Poitier Make Weight for UFC World Title
Hot UFC269: this Saturday Oliveira vs Poirier Ready for War in Las Vegas