UFC fighter tests positive for meldonium, but remains on card

Sometimes guidelines have to change. That seems to be that line USADA is taking on Meldonium and infractions related to its use, as it’s becoming clearer in the anti-doping community that the retention period for the drug in an athletes body is too uncertain to allow for reasonable enforcement.

The shift in regulation standards may come a little late for fighters like Islam Makhachev and Abdul Kerim-Edilov, both of whom have been sidelined from planned UFC bouts after testing positive for the drug. But, it’s right on time for Daniel Omielanczuk, as the Polish heavyweight recently tested positive for Meldonium, but will remain on UFC Sioux Falls, this July 13th. Here’s the official UFC statement on his test failure:

“The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) informed Daniel Omielanczuk of a potential Anti-Doping Policy Violation involving Meldonium, a prohibited substance on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List. USADA further informed UFC that due to recent WADA statements regarding the handling of Meldonium cases, they will not be issuing a provisional suspension to Omielanczuk at this time. Accordingly, Omielanczuk has not been removed from his scheduled bout against Alexy Oleinik in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on July 13, 2016.”

And while it may not be as timely as it could be, it is still good news for the fighters dealing with the fallout from WADA’s Meldonium clustercuss. As our own Karim Zidan reported, via Twitter, Islam Makhachev’s provisional suspension has also been lifted as a result of the lack of information on the drug and it’s rate of excretion from the human body:

UFC Sioux Falls goes down on July 13 in South Dakota. The card will be headlined by a bout between bantamweight contenders Michael McDonald and John Lineker. Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow for more news and updates.