UFC middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum has accepted a retroactive USADA suspension which has now been completed following a failed drug test for marijuana from his fight with Darren Till last November.
UFC middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum has accepted a nine month ban after testing positive for marijuana following his last fight at UFC 244. USADA had announced that Gastelum had tested positive for THC metabolites on November 3, the day following his fight with Darren Till in New York. After completing a drug treatment program, Gastelum received a five month reduction for his suspension. As the suspension begins retroactively from the date of his failed test in November, Gastelum is already cleared to return to action.
In a press release Monday, USADA officials wrote that “Gastelum’s positive test falls under the jurisdiction of the New York State Athletic Commission, which is handling the case in accordance with its rules.”
Gastelum has tested positive for marijuana before. He was pulled weeks out from his fight with Anderson Silva in 2017 where he received a 90 day suspension for the same offense. Per MMAFighting.com, Gastelum had previously been targeting a summer return following a tear in his LCL that did not require surgery. After the news broke, Gastelum addressed the news with the following tweet:
As you all can tell by the news, I have accepted full responsibility and have already moved forward.
I am on to my next opponent #OnAMission4Gold
— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) May 11, 2020
Gastelum is currently on a two fight skid that includes his Fight of the Year against Israel Adesanya for the middleweight championship last April. Gastelum fell to Till by unanimous decision last November and has not fought since.
