Bobby Green has opened up about what led to the cancellation of his UFC 276 fight with Jim Miller — and a failed drug test is at fault.
Green (29-13-1) had been booked against Miller for the third time this past July, but once again the fight fell through. This time, it was Green withdrawing, for reasons unknown at the time. Turns out, an out-of-competition drug test had come back positive.
The popular lightweight took ownership for the positive test while speaking directly to fans on a video posted to social media on Saturday, with the caption “I’m really sorry guys I f*cked up.”
According to Green, he had planned on announcing the news even sooner, but was warned against doing so.
“I’m not supposed to do it now, but f*ck it. So where do I start at?” he stated in the video appearance, which lasted over a half hour. “I was supposed to do this last week, but they told me not to do it. I’m gonna do it anyway. … So, I want to tell you guys something, I’m going to tell you a story. I hope you’ve got enough time to listen, be patient with me, and check this story out. I’m going to tell you why I didn’t fight when I was supposed to fight Jim Miller. You asked the question, so I’m going to answer the question for you now. I couldn’t answer at the time that you wanted to, and I’m still not supposed to answer it now. But I’m gonna do it anyway.”
Green went on to reveal that he had been taking a number of athletic supplements in advance of the fight, and it turned out one was on USADA’s banned substance list.
“They [USADA] called me and they go, ‘Hey, what have you been taking? You tested positive for testosterone.’ And I go ‘What? What? In 20 years, I’ve never tested positive for anything. In 20 years of my sport. What do you mean? I know drugs, and drugs to me, I’ve only heard of them coming in needle form, I’ve heard of them coming in some crazy pill form possibly but you’ll know. And last maybe I heard was some cream sh*t with testosterone or some sh*t like that,” said Green, noting that Chad Mendes had failed a drug test for just that.
“I didn’t do any of those, so what can I be taking wrong? So I say ‘hey come back, take all the pictures, show them all those bottles.’ They go, ‘Hey, it’s that one right there. DHEA. That’s a banned substance on our list, and you’re now in failure, and the fight is off.’ A week before the fight. I’m crushed. I’m like ‘what the f*ck?’ I had no idea guys, what I was doing, that it was wrong, that there was any benefits to what I was doing. I would never try to cheat, I would never try to lie to my public. I’m against drugs, I’m against PEDs, I would never even think about those things.”
The problem, revealed Green, was that he had never bothered to check USADA’s banned substance list, given that he believed everything he was taking was legal and all-natural.
“It’s my fault. I’m taken wrong in this. I f*cked up and I take responsibility,” Green later added. “I was a jackass. I’m the one that made the mistake. I take all responsibility.”
Green could be out anywhere from a year to two years depending on the outcome of his case with USADA. The 36-year old last competed in February, taking a fight with Islam Makhachev on short notice to save UFC Vegas 49. He would lose that bout, snapping a two-fight win streak in the process.
