Sean O’Malley Accepts Sanction for Second Violation of UFC Anti-Doping Policy https://t.co/nbzouPbWOd
— USADA | UFC Anti-Doping Program (@USADA_UFC) January 9, 2020
Sean O’Malley will be on the shelf a little while longer as he sits out following multiple drug test failures for tainted supplements.
According to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency on Thursday, O’Malley has been suspended for six months dating back to a positive test for ostarine on Aug. 6. O’Malley was flagged on two separate tests on Aug. 6 and Aug. 12 for the same substance, as well as other positive results later that month. Due to his cooperation and an investigation that followed, O’Malley was not found at fault for intentionally using this substance. “Sugar” will be eligible to return to active competition on Feb. 6, and his matchup with Jose Alberto Quinonez has been relocated to UFC 248 in March to accommodate his eligibility.
The investigation into O’Malley’s case included additional testing, a specific log documenting his food intake and clearing his future supplements with the agency. The information gathered proved his innocence as it pertained to the intentional use of ostarine, and as such the suspension — his second — was reduced to six months. His case has been considered one involving tainted supplements.
O’Malley was first suspended in 2018 for the same substance, getting pulled from a matchup on UFC 229 against Quinonez and suspended for a six-month period. O’Malley maintained his innocence, claiming that the cause of his positive test may have come from tainted caffeine pills. Accepting responsibility for that test, USADA offered him a reduced sentence in that case as well.
USADA’s statement regarding O’Malley is as follows:
“USADA announced today that Sean O’Malley, of Phoenix, Ariz., has tested positive for a prohibited substance and accepted a reduced six-month sanction, consistent with other supplement contamination cases, for his second anti-doping policy violation.
“O’Malley, 25, tested positive for ostarine as the result of out-of-competition urine samples he provided on August 6, 2019 and August 12, 2019. His two positives, as well as additional positives collected after August 12, 2019, were treated as a single violation because the estimated concentration of ostarine in the urine samples was consistent with ingestion prior to August 29, 2019, the date O’Malley received notification of his second violation. In addition, the pattern of low urinary ostarine concentrations observed in multiple samples provided by O’Malley was consistent with exposure to ostarine as a contaminant. Ostarine is a non-Specified Substance in the class of Anabolic Agents and prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and UFC Prohibited List.
“After a thorough investigation into O’Malley’s positive tests, including extensive follow-up testing, his agreement to keep a food log, his increased level of care in selecting supplements, and finding no evidence of intentional use, USADA resolved O’Malley’s case with a six-month period of ineligibility. O’Malley’s period of ineligibility began on August 6, 2019, the date his positive sample was collected.”