A recent positive test for the long term metabolite of the steroid
dehydrochloromethyltestosterone (DHCMT) — known as the M3
metabolite — will not keep Manel Kape
from competing at
UFC 275 next month.
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The Nevada State Athletic Commission ruled on Monday that Kape must
be tested twice per month for six months and the results must
either be negative or below the 100-picograms-per-millileter
threshold for the M3 metabolite in order to be licensed by the
commission.
The M3 metabolite is the same one that came to prominence when
Jon
Jones tested positive for the long-term metabolite in multiple
screenings beginning in late 2018. USADA ruled that in cases like
Jones and numerous others that followed, that it could not
determined how long ago the fighter might have ingested the banned
substance before it turned into the metabolite. That led to the
anti-doping body instituting the 100 pg/ML threshold as a tipping
point to potentially discipline the athlete in question as part of
the UFC’s drug testing policy.
UFC executive Jeff Novitzky attend Tuesday’s hearing in support of
Kape. Kape was pulled from a proposed bout against Su Mudaerji
at UFC Fight Night 205 by the NSAC as a result of the initial
finding, but he was not suspended. Kape is able to fight at UFC 275
because it will be held in Singapore — outside NSAC
jurisdiction.
A former Rizin bantamweight champion, Kape is slated to face
Rogerio
Bontorin at UFC 275 on June 11. The 28-year-old AKA Thailand
representative is coming off back-to-back first-round finishes
against Ode
Osbourne and Zhalgas
Zhumagulov.