UFC rescinds Cung Le's suspension, but fighter undecided on next step
For the first time since it began independently testing fighters for performance-enhancers and drugs of abuse, the UFC has taken back a suspension it issued for a failed drug test.
The promotion today announced it has rescinded the one-year suspension of middleweight Cung Le (9-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC), less than one month after the UFC announced the fighter tested positive for elevated levels of human growth hormone following his fourth-round TKO loss to Michael Bisping (25-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC) in the headliner of UFC Fight Night 48 on Aug. 23.
Le, 42, is now free to resume his career, though his manager, Gary Ibarra, said the fighter’s next step is unclear.
“He’s undecided,†Ibarra told MMAjunkie. “We have to really sit back and assess the damage done and determine how we’ll go about repairing a reputation 20 years in the making that was destroyed overnight.â€
Ibarra added that retirement is a “possibility†for Le, a former Strikeforce champ who holds a 2-2 record in the UFC.
In late September, the UFC handed Le a nine-month suspension but extended it an additional three months after citing an error with its internal procedures. The industry-leader then backtracked after several media outlets, including MMAjunkie, cast doubt on the procedures utilized to test Le and his options to challenge the results.
Since there no athletic commission oversaw UFC Fight Night 48 in Macau, the promotion acted as the event’s de-facto regulator, as it does in other locales where MMA is not formally regulated. A UFC official told MMAjunkie a phlebotomist from the Mayo Clinic was hired to take blood samples from Bisping and Le – as well as two other fighters from the card, it later announced – immediately after the event, and the samples were shipped to a laboratory in nearby Hong Kong.
The UFC initially stood by the results of the failed test despite the fact that the laboratory, Hong Kong Functional Medical Testing Center, was not accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which sets testing standards for the performance-enhancer, and the fighter’s blood was tested immediately after their bout, when HGH levels are thought to spike.
Earlier this month, however, officials announced the fighter would be able to appeal the promotion’s findings via a third-party arbitrator. The decision was unprecedented because no fighter had previously challenged the results of testing conducted by the promotion.
According to Ibarra, arbitration proceedings hadn’t even begun when he was summoned this past Wednesday to the UFC’s Las Vegas office, where several high-ranking officials informed him of the decision to rescind Le’s suspension.
Ibarra, a Bay Area-based union rep for longshoremen and warehousemen, was familiar with the process from his day job and expected to begin negotiating with the UFC on potential arbitrators. Instead, he said, the promotion reversed course.
“I think that saved us a lot of wasted time just to get to an end that was going to come anyway, which would be us prevailing,†he said. “I’m glad they saved us the time and money of doing that and just admitted they made a mistake. But I would hope that they would have apologized as loudly as they condemned him in the first place.â€
Ibarra hoped the UFC’s decision will lead the promotion to improved testing procedures, or even simply using the guidelines created by WADA for HGH testing. But with Le’s name possibly smeared forever, he took issue with the cost to get there.
“It’s just sad that Cung’s reputation was ruined in order to make sure (better testing) happens,†he said. “Having someone’s career destroyed and chalking it up to growing pains or a learning process is not acceptable to me.â€
Below is the UFC’s full statement on its decision to rescind Le’s suspension:
“At UFC Fight Night Macao on August 23rd, UFC contracted with an independent drug testing laboratory in Hong Kong to perform urinalysis testing on all fighters on the card. Additionally, UFC requested the laboratory to test blood samples from 4 fighters for human growth hormone (HGH), erythropoietin (EPO) and testosterone.
“One of the athletes who had his blood tested was Cung Le. The laboratory results from Le’s blood test were sent to the UFC and showed that his blood had a total HGH level outside the reference range. Based on such results, UFC officials determined that Le had violated his promotional agreement and the UFC Fighter Conduct Policy. Consequently, UFC decided that Le should be suspended from unarmed combat competition for 12 months.
“Following the announcement of Le’s suspension, UFC officials have been provided with medical advice regarding the elevated total HGH present in Le’s system. In accordance with such medical advice, UFC has determined that Le’s elevated total HGH by itself does not prove that he took performance-enhancing drugs before the August 23rd bout. As a result, UFC has informed Le that his suspension is rescinded.
“Le had requested an appeal of his suspension, and was entitled to arbitrate the drug test results and suspension. However, based on the lack of conclusive laboratory results, UFC officials deemed it appropriate to immediately rescind the suspension without the need for further proceedings.
“The UFC organization has always been a leader when it comes to testing for performance-enhancing drugs in combat sports. All UFC athletes know they are subject to drug testing by an applicable state athletic commission, an international governing federation, or by an independent laboratory contracted by the UFC when no regulatory body is overseeing the event. In those cases where regulatory oversight is unavailable, UFC voluntarily chooses to adhere to the highest level of athlete health and safety protocols similar to if the event were being held in the state of Nevada.â€
