UFC welterweight Michel Prazeres is looking at the end of his career, with the 40-year old Brazilian fighter handed a four year suspension stemming from another drug test failure.
USADA (the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency) announced the penalty on Thursday. For “Trator,” it’s his second ban under the UFC’s Anti-Doping Policy— and it’s likely what led to his requested release by the promotion just a week ago.
Speaking to MMA Fighting previously, Prazeres declined to specify why he had sought his release, stating that “I’ll focus on the business I have in Belem and who knows, maybe I’ll come back to fighting in the future,” before adding “I’ll focus on jiu-jitsu and relax.”
It’s almost certain that Prazeres was well aware of the sort of suspension he was looking at when he requested his release, however. The fighter tested positive in multiple tests for multiple banned substances, mainly clomiphene and its metabolites (desethyl-clomiphene, clomiphene M1, and clomiphene M2), oxandrolone metabolites, and the exogenous administration of testosterone and/or its precursors as the result of urine samples collected out-of-competition on August 27, 2021, September 16, 2021, October 15, 2021, and November 2, 2021.
According to a press release from USADA announcing the penalty, samples collected from Prazeres underwent Carbon Isotope Ratio (CIR) testing, which differentiates between anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) naturally produced by the body and prohibited anabolic agents of external origin. “The CIR test confirmed the presence of testosterone and/or its precursors of external origin in Prazeres’ urine sample.”
Prazeres (26-4) had previously tested positive for anabolic steroids in out-of-competition tests administered in March of 2019. That infraction led to a two-year suspension; Prazeres returned to competition this past June, only to lose via submission to Shavkat Rakhmonov.
The Brazilian, who had also lost his lone bout in 2019 to Ismail Naurdiev, went on an eight-fight win streak from 2015 to 2018.
Per additional reporting by MMA Fighting citing unnamed sources, Prazeres has opted to retire from competition due to the length of the suspension. If he were to opt to continue with his career, his current suspension would end on August 27, 2025.
