File this one under bizarre ways to get suspended: Jay-Jay Wilson, who made a name for himself in Bellator and currently falls under the PFL banner, has accepted a three-month suspension from USADA.
While that might seem low for any drug test failure, Wilson’s ban comes after evidence was presented that he shared a vape pen with an acquaintance who was not under USADA’s jurisdiction, but who was using a substance that runs afoul of the anti-doping body’s regulations.
In particular, Wilson (10-1) failed an out-of-competition drug test stemming from a sample collected on April 1, 2024, testing positive for Metenolone. Typically used to treat anemia, Metenolone falls under the androgen/anabolic steroid class.
In a press release issued on Thursday, USADA officials noted that “During USADA’s investigation into his case, Wilson, who was fully cooperative, identified that he shared a vape pen with a friend who had used metenolone orally shortly before using the vape pen but is not under USADA’s jurisdiction. USADA received corroborating evidence of the friend’s metenolone use and then worked with an independent WADA-accredited laboratory and coordinated with experts to confirm the scientific plausibility of this route of administration through a detailed metenolone administration study where oral fluid samples were collected and analyzed, which took several months to complete.”
As a result, what might otherwise have been a year-long ban was reduced to three months, backdated to the date of the sample collection on April 1. Meaning Wilson’s suspension has already been completed. The case also fell under the NSAC, who handed the fighter a nine-month ban, which made him eligible to return to competition on January 1. The NSAC had jurisdiction as Wilson had been scheduled to face Adam Piccolotti at 2024’s PFL 2 card in Las Vegas, though the fight was scratched.
Either way, Jay-Jay Wilson is in the clear to compete in 2025. Wilson has not fought since a 2023 victory against France’s Mansour Barnaui at Bellator 299. Bellator MMA was later scooped up by the PFL, who have now folded in or released most of the talent acquired, with the Bellator brand defunct.
