Casey (10-10), who has competed as both a flyweight and strawweight over the years, has accepted a four-month suspension for use of a prohibited substance, BPC-157, which she reported to the UFC on June 21, 2023.

“Cast Iron” had been prescribed the substance by a physician to treat an unspecified medical condition. However, BPC-157, a peptide, falls under the class of Non-Approved Substances and is prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy.

USADA officials announced Casey’s situation in a press release issued Thursday.

BPC-157 is a synthetic peptide believed to have some gastrointestinal benefits, and is not a steroid, but was banned by WADA (the World Anti-Doping Agency) in 2022, due to a lack of sufficient human trials/study of the substance.

Per Thursday’s press release, “Casey immediately provided documentation confirming that she was prescribed and provided BPC-157 by a doctor to help treat a medical condition. After using the substance for a short period of time, she learned that BPC-157 is a prohibited substance and came forward about her use to the UFC. A Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) was not applicable to this Non-Approved Substance. Casey was eligible for a reduction to the period of ineligibility based on her forthright declaration and for her Full and Complete Cooperation.”

Casey’s suspension is backdated to June 1, 2023, the approximate date of her last using the substance. The 36-year old has not fought since a July 2022 split decision loss against Antonina Shevchenko.

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Jasudavicius (7-2) will face off with “Cast Iron” Casey (10-10) at a Fight Night event on February 25, 2023. A source familiar with the booking confirmed the match-up to Cageside Press on Tuesday, following an initial report by TSN.

For Canada’s Jasudavicius, the bout will be an opportunity to rebound from her first loss under the UFC banner, against Natalia Silva back in June. Prior to that, the 2021 Dana White’s Contender Series alum had defeated Kay Hansen in her promotional debut.

The St. Catharines, Ontario-based fighter previously competed for Cage Fury FC and Canadian promotion BTC.

Cortney Casey will also be looking to return to the win column on February 25. The 15-fight UFC veteran fell to Antonina Shevchenko via split decision in July, but prior to that close setback, she had picked up a win over Liana Jojua the previous November.

Casey entered the UFC with just five pro fights to her name back in 2015, initially as a strawweight. She’s spent the bulk of her fighting career with the company as a result.

The UFC’s Feb. 25, 2023 Fight Night show does not yet have a location, venue, or broadcast plan officially announced. The following bouts have been reported for the card so far:

• Nikita Krylov vs. Ryan Spann
• Victor Martinez vs. Jordan Leavitt
• Hailey Cowan vs. Ailin Perez
• Ode’ Osbourne vs. Denys Bondar
• Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Cortney Casey

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A highly-touted striker herself, “La Pantera” had struggled during her UFC run, with a 2-4 record to start the night. She entered her fight with Cortney Casey having lost two straight, and three of her last four.

“Cast Iron” Casey, meanwhile, was coming off a November win over Liana Jojua.

Round one began with Shevchenko working the leg kicks and Casey returning them. Once Shevchenko got feel for Casey she began to put together combinations, but continued using the kicks to keep her opponent at range. A big right hand landed for Casey about halfway through the round, but she bailed on her follow up takedown attempt when Shevchenko got the thai clinch. Casey tried to get in close for the clinch using a big right hand, but ends up on her back when Shevchenko trips her down. Casey worked the closed guard and landed some elbows from bottom position. Shevchenko stood up with about 10 seconds left and landed kicks to the legs as the round ended.

Round two Shevchenko led the dance more, but it was on her terms with side kicks and high kicks. Casey tried to get in close using strikes to clinch and shoot for the takedown but couldn’t. With a little under 90 seconds left Casey finally got close in for a clinch, but did nothing with it as Shevchenko spun out and away from her. Casey grew tired of the game and at the urging of her corner went after Shevchenko with strikes. She landed a couple big shots as the round ended.

Round three and Casey came out aggressive. The two traded for a while until Casey rushed in while avoiding a spinning back fist and got ahold of Shevchenko. In the clinch on the fence and looking for the takedown she dragged Shevchenko to the ground with just under 3 minutes left. Casey stayed on top landing shots, but allowed Shevchenko to stand up only to take her right back down. Shevchenko managed to get to her feet once more near the end of the round, but Casey shot in for a double and took her down once more. The fight ended with Casey on top landing shots and the decision went to the judges.

Official Result: Antonina Shevchenko def. Cortney Casey via Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) 

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While the judging has been better at awarding fighters on the bottom who are looking to attack and do damage, it’s still been frustrating for the UFC flyweight.

“It’s frustrating. It’s hard to do something with someone isn’t doing anything,” Casey expressed. “When they’re just laying on and holding on for dear life and winning the position (I guess you could say) and top control, but not really doing damage, it’s really frustrating as a fighter.”

Heading into her fight this weekend with Antonina Shevchenko, Casey has been looking to avoid some of that frustration. While wrestling defense is always important in a fight, Casey knows that it, in fact, all starts with her striking.

“For me, we’ve just been adding a lot of footwork in there to make sure we’re not standing right in front of someone,” she explained. “I like to stand and bang, so that’s kind of my problem. If I stand in front of you, it’s easier to take me down.”

Knowing the profile of the older Shevchenko sister, she’s less concerned about that aspect for this fight. However, she recognizes that she brings a whole different set of puzzles for her to work out.

“We liked the matchup… She has a good clinch game and things like that. We know she likes to wear he opponents out that way,” Casey said. “But I feel like we came up with a good game plan for that as well.”

Casey will look to show off her new footwork and get a chance to bang at UFC Vegas 58. That fight will take place on the ESPN 2 and ESPN+ this Saturday.

You can hear the entire audio of this interview at 32:45. 

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Caio Borralho Interview (1:53)

Kicking off this week’s edition of the Top Turtle MMA Podcast is UFC middleweight Caio Borralho. Borralho will be fighting in the co-main event for the second time this weekend, in as many fights. He talks about what he’s done to earn that placement on back-to-back fights and why it is his doing that got that placement (not his opponent’s). Plus, he talks about comparisons to another Brazilian middleweight who got prime placement years ago. While those comparisons are welcomed, he actually drew inspiration from another country’s fighter early in his fight career. Listen in to hear who it is.

Fights, Dogs, and Parlays: UFC Vegas 58 (20:20)

UFC 276 was an absolute banger of a card and the guys cleaned up yet again. So you’re going to want to tune in for the easiest to digest fight breakdown in the game: Fights, Dogs, and Parlays. This week’s UFC Vegas 58 may not have quite the same star power. But it’s always got places to hit with great odds. Not only are they going to take a peek at the top of the card for you guys, but Gumby and Shockwave are digging deeper for some underdogs and a parlay that you might want to get in on as well. For this segment, odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Cortney Casey Interview (32:45)

Closing out this week’s edition of the Top Turtle MMA Podcast is UFC flyweight Cortney Casey. Casey talks about her fight with Antonina Shevchenko getting pushed back a couple months and how that gave her a super long fight camp. She also talks about navigating a fight camp at the same time as her partner – all while raising a young child. Plus she talks about the fight itself at UFC Vegas 58. She’s loving that she has someone to stand and bang with.

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Or well, it would have been flyweight action had Jojua not missed weight for the bout, necessitating at 128.5lb catchweight.

Jojua entered the bout looking to shake off a loss to Miranda Maverick just over a year ago. Only one woman was going to get back in the win column — and it turned out to be Casey, by a wide margin.

Both fighters took the center of the octagon after a touch of gloves. Both women fired off jabs to find the distance, but neither of them landed. Casey landed a low kick and then, 30 seconds later, a front kick. Casey started to let her hands fly and landed several 1-2s. Jojua fired back, but nothing landed. Another right hand from Casey landed. With just over 90 seconds remaining in the round, Casey threw another front kick. Jojua tried for a takedown but nothing came of it. Casey landed another combo that seemed to hurt Jojua and Casey rushed her, almost eating a front kick from Jojua. Roughly 30 seconds left, and Jojua landed a takedown and ended the round on top.

Round two started with Casey throwing another front kick. A minute into the round and both fighters exchanged punches, but Casey’s landed more flush. The last three minutes of round two was basically both fighters exchanging punches- nothing significant landed, but Jojua’s nose was bloodied, her shirt stained red. Casey tripped, and then Jojua jumped on top of her at the end of the round but ate an upkick. Jojua started dropping ground and pound to end the round.

Knocked down and met with up kicks 😳

[ #UFCVegas42 | Prelims are LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/t1xBlcUthG

— UFC (@ufc) November 13, 2021

Round three started with Jojua knowing she had to finish the fight. Two minutes in and Jojua tried for a takedown, but Casey defended it. Casey landed a heavy right hand with two minutes left. Jojua’s face was an absolute mess by this point. Casey threw a 1-2 followed by a head kick. Both fighters clinched, but no action came of it. Jojua tried for another last-minute takedown and landed it, but it was too little too late.

With a one-sided decision win, Cortney Casey snapped her two-fight skid, potentially saving her job in the process. Following the bout, she revealed a possible broken hand, suffered in the opening round of the fight.

Official Result: Cortney Casey def. Liana Jojua by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-37)

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On Thursday, UFC officials announced the full line-up for the Fight Night event, scheduled for August 21 at the Apex in Las Vegas. Noticeably absent was Jojua vs. Casey. MMA Junkie later reported that Jojua had been forced out of the fight due to visa issues.

Jojua (8-4), a 26-year old out of Georgia, is 1-2 inside the octagon thus far. Losses to Sarah Moras and Miranda Maverick sandwich her lone UFC win against Diana Belbita, which came last July in a flyweight contest on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.

Casey (9-9) is a longtime member of the promotion’s strawweight, and now flyweight, roster. She opened up her career with the Ultimate Fighting Championship by appearing in back-to-back Fight of the Nights. Casey holds notable wins over Angela Hill, Jessica Aguilar, and Randa Markos, but has dropped her last two contests.

UFC Vegas 34 is headlined by a middleweight clash between Kelvin Gastelum and Jared Cannonier. Jojua has not been replaced in the August 21 bout, meaning Cortney Casey is off the event as well. Per a report by MMA Fighting, the promotion hopes to rebook for the fight at a later date, dependent on Jojua’s visa status.

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MMA Junkie was first to report the news that Cortney Casey will fight Liana Jojua on August 21 at UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Gastelum. Both fighters would confirm the booking on social media.

Casey (9-9) will most likely be fighting for her job in August. In her last fight, she lost a very close split decision to JJ Aldrich earlier this year at UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad. “Cast Iron” went 1-1 in 2020, submitting Mara Romero Borella in May and then getting submitted by Gillian Robertson one month later.

Jojua (8-4) will be making her USA debut when she fights Casey in August, as she has only fought in Abu Dhabi in her three UFC fights. The Georgian fighter is 1-2 in the UFC, with her only win against Diana Belbita last year on ‘Fight Island.’ In her most recent fight, she was stopped by Miranda Maverick via doctor stoppage, again on ‘Fight Island’ at UFC 254.

UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Gastelum will take place at UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, and broadcast on ESPN.

So far, the August 21 fight card looks like this:

• Kelvin Gastelum vs. Jared Cannonier
• Alexandre Pantoja vs. Brandon Royval
• Clay Guida vs. Mark O. Madsen
• Luis Saldana vs. Austin Lingo
• Fabio Cherant vs. William Knight
• Austin Hubbard vs. Vic Pichel
• Chase Sherman vs. Parker Porter
• Brian Kelleher vs. Domingo Pilarte
• Ramiz Brahimaj vs. Sasha Palatnikov
• Bea Malecki vs. Josiane Nunes
• Mana Martinez vs. Jesse Strader
• Roosevelt Roberts vs. Ignacio Bahamondes
• Cortney Casey vs. Liana Jojua

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With Aldrich entering her first pandemic-era fight, Casey at least had the edge in activity. And starting the fight, she was firing first, only to wind up on the outside. Aldrich held center, fending off Casey’s attacks until she was able to drive Casey into the fence, looking for the takedown. Casey fought that attempt off, landing a punch off the break. Another clinch would lead to a thudding knee from Casey, who was throwing hard and had Aldrich under fire. However, as Casey again closed the distance with her hands, it was Aldrich with a well timed takedown. That was big, but likely not enough to steal the round.

Casey began the second frame with some heavy shots, and jumped to take the back of Aldrich — but that resulted in Casey being on her back herself. She stayed active from bottom, at least initially. But that allowed Aldrich to get in a lot of top time, with Casey only making it back to her feet in the final thirty seconds of the frame. A clear round for Aldrich.

The third round very likely was going to be the difference maker. Casey had the clear edge on the feet in round one. Aldrich’s ground control gave her the edge in the second. Early in the third, it was Casey in her wheelhouse, landing some nasty combos. While Aldrich fired back, Casey had the edge — but with just over 90 seconds in the frame, Aldrich changed levels and scored the takedown. “Cast Iron” wisely made a b-line for the fence, dragging Aldrich with her and climbing back up. Casey then went to the body, and followed that moments later with a combination upstairs. Aldrich returned fire as well. The close round was capped with a late low blow off a spinning back kick by Aldrich. That paused the action with three seconds remaining. When it went to the judges, it was Aldrich getting the nod by split decision.

Official Result: JJ Aldrich def. Cortney Casey by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

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“It’s been a while. At least nine weeks,” Casey (9-8) told us, just over a week away from the event. “I got a full camp and everything. It was the first time Drakkar [Klose, her partner and fellow UFC fighter] and I had camps that overlapped, so it was a little bit different. But it was just a new experience, in trying to get everything ironed out and figure things out, but we made it work, and so far, so good.”

Klose was supposed to fight just weeks before Casey, but the fight was pulled due to a positive COVID-19 test from one of the fighter’s corners. Luckily, Casey revealed, it was a false positive.

When UFC Vegas 21 rolls around, it will be Casey’s third consecutive scrap at 125lbs. “I’m pretty much done with strawweight. Just gonna stay at flyweight here,” she confirmed, adding that the plan is to make a run at flyweight “and see how everything goes. Just try to play the field a little bit.” And, in something of a surprise, Casey added “if they want me to take some short notice fights at 35, I can do that as well. But right now, 25 will be my home.”

Bantamweight would be quite the jump for a fighter who previously competed in the 115lb division. But although she is fighting 10lbs heavier these days, the cuts aren’t any easier. Quite the opposite.

“Honestly so far my cuts at 25 have been a little bit more difficult than my cuts to 15,” Casey revealed. “I did have about a 15 month layoff in between moving from 15 to 25. My whole body composition had changed, and obviously getting older and everything had a lot to do with it.”

Casey’s still trying to work out the kinks at 25, she continued. “They’re getting better, each cut’s getting better, but the first couple were different, I guess you could say.” The 33-year old has been working with the UFC PI, sending them a list of everything she eats, her workouts, and so on. “They just tailor things as needed. We just kind of go from there.”

Having a fight fall through is never fun, and both Klose and Casey have had it happen in the last six months. On Casey’s side, that was her planned bout with Priscila Cachoeira at UFC Vegas 12 in October.

“That was a huge roller coaster. That kind of opened my eyes to 135, because we ended up changing, Fight Week, the whole bout agreement to 35 just because [Cachoeira] came in so heavy,” Casey explained. “She came in Fight Week at like 154lbs.” There was no way her opponent could make the flyweight limit, Casey observed, so they agreed to a bantamweight fight. “And then she ended up not making that weight either. So the whole fight got scrapped.”

Here’s one unfortunate reality about the fight business: If you don’t fight, you don’t get paid. “Even if you weigh in, it’s not like you get paid either. Everything’s up to the discretion of the UFC, of what they’re going to give you,” Casey noted. “So it’s definitely a lot of money missed out on, but at the same time, you’re got to kind of look at it on the bright side, in that at least we have the opportunity to be fighting.”

It does hit the bank account pretty hard, however, “going through two camps, and then also two camps in COVID,” added Casey. “Meaning you’re kind of training a lot differently. You’re bringing people in, you’ve got to make sure they’re staying away from people, and isolating yourself as much as possible so you don’t get those positive tests.”

“I feel like a lot more money goes into camps now just because of the coronavirus and the pandemic and things like that. It’s a lot more money going out for camp, and not having those fights go through, you’ve still got to pay everyone,” she finished.

With luck, there will be no such hiccups when Casey takes on Aldrich this weekend. Asked about the pairing, Casey stated that “I think we match up pretty well. I think our styles are pretty similar, I know we both have backgrounds in jiu-jitsu. We do like to strike.”

“She’s a gamer, she likes to move forward, and she likes to bring the fight, which I’m excited about. Her striking’s good, she’s a southpaw so it’s always interesting going against a southpaw. I haven’t gone against a southpaw in a while, let alone a true southpaw as in JJ,” continued Casey. Michelle Waterson, Casey explained, was more a of a “karate southpaw, whereas JJ is more of a boxing southpaw. Waterson moves a lot, switches stances and things like that where JJ pretty much stays as a southpaw.”

“I’m really excited for it. I definitely think it’s going to be one of those Fight of the Night contender fights,” Casey finished.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMC1kqqlWW1/

2020 was not an easy year to set goals for. For many, it was a disaster, if not downright tragic. With a vaccine rolling out globally, an end to the coronavirus pandemic is finally in sight. For 2021, Casey has a rather interesting plan: fight often, if possible. If not, take some time off to grow her family with Klose.

“I would like to get back in there soon, Casey told us, then added “King’s getting to be almost three here in July, so we don’t want to have a big gap between the babies. So it depends. Hopefully I can get a fight in pretty quick, but if they’re going to sit me out for six months, then I might as well sit out twelve months. Get a baby in there, and then come back after that.”

Having a second child join son King is “definitely something we’ve been talking about. We were trying to do it last year, but then with my fight falling out, getting three fights in and getting some money in the bank is always good,” said Casey.

There has been lots of talk in recent years about Dad Cerrone and the like. A a fighting mom, Casey pointed out that “our job doesn’t change. That’s all I can say. We’re still mom 24/7, and then we have camp.” When it comes to dads, “I feel like they’re dads, but when it’s camp time, it’s camp time. Especially when the babies are this young, they tend to gravitate more towards mom anyways. So I feel like it’s a little bit easier for dads to go and train and do what they need to do than it is for moms.”

It’s not for lack of effort on Klose’s part, mind you. It’s just a baby boy wanting his mom. “Even if dad tries to go over there and help out, it’s not stopping the crying or anything. He still wants me.”

A growing family should be all the motivation Casey needs this weekend.

Cortney Casey faces JJ Alrich this Saturday, March 13 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card airs live on ESPN+ (TSN in Canada).

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