UFC heavyweight Walt Harris has been given a four-month suspension and a $4,000 fine after a positive drug test at UFC 232.
Walt Harris no longer has a win over Andrei Arlovski on his record. Just under two months after he defeated the former champion at UFC 232, Harris has been handed a suspension by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC). That follows the news that Harris failed a test with the commission stemming from the event. MMA Fighting reported news of the suspension Thursday.
In addition to a four month suspension, Harris will hand over $4,000 in fines. His win was overturned. The good news is, the relatively short suspension is retroactive to the night of the fight, making Harris eligible to compete again come the end of April. The test failure came after trace amounts of LGB4033, a selective androgen receptor module (SARM), were found in Harris’ sample.
Lucky for Harris, he was able to determine that a tainted supplement was at fault. Having the suspect supplement tested confirmed that. The CSAC thus ruled the ingestion of the substance unintentional, and factored that into its punishment.
However, Harris may not be out of the woods just yet. Under the UFC’s Anti-Doping Policy, USADA could still choose to sanction the heavyweight as well. He has also been ordered to enroll in VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency) for a pair of tests at his own cost.
