Andrea “KGB” Lee is probably the hottest flyweight property outside the UFC right now. Or was, as earlier this week, she signed a UFC deal, and had a fight scheduled for UFC 216. However, as quickly as she was added to the card, KGB Lee was pulled from it. The reason? The necessity of undergoing six months of USADA testing prior to fight in the octagon.
The Legacy Fighting Alliance flyweight champion and Invicta FC fighter (she pulled double-duty, fighting for both organizations) has now released a statement about the matter. It reads in part:
So obviously I won’t be fighting next weekend, USADA is making me undergo the “usada testing pool” which requires me to take a bunch of random test [sic] over a period of 6 months BEFORE I can step into the UFC octagon. This is all because of the diuretic (a.k.a. fluid pill) I took in 2016. I figured that when I was off my suspension I wouldn’t have to deal with that anymore, obviously I was wrong. It’s not the UFC’s fault because they didn’t know about this USADA rule. I’m still signing a fight contract with UFC, that hasn’t changed, I just have to enroll in this program now so my time can start ticking.
What may come as a surprise is the claim that the UFC wasn’t aware of the rule. After the fallout from the suspension of Brock Lesnar following UFC 200, USADA increased the timeframe from four to six months as far as new/returning fighters being in the testing pool is concerned. There remains the option to grant exceptions, but Lee’s past history negates that option in her case. Given the Lesnar incident’s high profile, you would expect the UFC to be aware of the rule, and it’s rather shocking to hear that they were not.
Lee later added that she hoped to fight in March or April next year, and that “I’m not on drugs nor am I or Have I taken any steroids. I’ve passed ALL my random drug tests this year.”
The suspension in question stemmed from a 2016 drug test failure under the NSAC. The test determined that canrenone and/or spironolactone were present in her system. The fighter and commission eventually reached a settlement that included a nine month suspension.
In a video released to social media in April 2016, KGB Lee addressed her use of the diuretic, saying that “I really didn’t know that, until I got in trouble, that diuretics are used to mask other drugs in your system. That’s not why I was using diuretics, I just felt bloated. I needed to shed some water. I was bloated that week, you know I’m a woman, we get bloated from time to time.”
“That make sense? Women get bloated, sometimes they need a fluid pill.”
The removal of Lee from the UFC 216 card has left a considerable hole in the event, as the promotion currently has just four fights listed for the main card. It’s possible that one of the preliminary bouts could be bumped up, however the UFC may still be able to find a replacement for Lee agaist Kalindra Faria. Lee vs. Faria was originally booked to replace Jessica Eye vs. Paige VanZant, after VanZant was forced off the card for health reasons.
