PFL 2022 light heavyweight champion Rob Wilkinson was the final of 10 fighters revealed to have failed their drug tests in Nevada earlier this year.
Wilkinson, who picked up a win over Thiago Santos at PFL 1 back in April, was handed down his punishment by the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Tuesday — and he’ll be sitting out nine months, while paying a fine of just over $8,000 per a report by MMA Junkie.
Now, Wilkinson has opened up about the scandal, admitting that he is “extremely disappointed in myself” after a drug test found an elevated t/e ratio due to an androgynous origin of testosterone.
Read Wilkinson’s full statement below.
Firstly, I would like to thank you for your support over my career and I want to provide you all with an explanation for my nonattendance in the 2023 PFL season.
After my last fight on April 1st, I failed an in-competition drug test, which has resulted in my suspension for the rest of the 2023 PFL season.
I have and will continue to reflect on all the reasons that led me down this path, but regardless of these reasons, I am extremely disappointed in myself. I want to emphasize that I wholeheartedly accept full responsibility for the choices I have made and the consequences that have come with it.
To my family, friends, team, fans, and the PFL, I’ve let you down and for that I am sorry. All I can do now is learn and grow from my mistakes, as I’ve always tried to do. I will take this time to improve my mentality and skill set and will be back better than ever. Through every set back, is an opportunity for a stronger come back.
To all of those who have reached out and shown unwavering support during this challenging time, I want to express my sincerest gratitude to you all. I truly appreciate each and every one of you.
Wilkinson, a former UFC middleweight who shared the cage with Israel Adesanya prior to being released by that promotion, defeated Omari Akhmedov in the 2022 PFL Championship to win the title and the million dollars. Coincidentally, his win over Santos, which is now a No Contest, came against one of the other nine fighters to fail drug tests back in April.
Santos for his part was suspended six months.
