A former CFFC and Fury FC champion, Hafez joined the UFC in 2023, making his debut in a Fight of the Night effort against future 170lb champ Jack Della Maddalena.

Two fights followed, with Hafez earning his first and only UFC win to date at UFC 302 in 2024 when he defeated Mickey Gall.

Following a loss to Oban Elliott later that year, Hafez found himself on the sidelines, recovering from surgery. And now he’ll be out even longer, following a failed drug test for an unnamed substance that Hafez says stems from a contaminated supplement taken during his recovery.

“I have bad news for you guys. I’ve been suspended by the UFC and CSAD because of a mistake that happened during my recovery,” Hafez wrote on social media, announcing his suspension, the length of which is unclear. “I took a supplement during my healing process that ended up containing a banned substance. I had provided the clinic with the banned substance list and made it clear that those ingredients were not allowed, but it still ended up being included in the mix.”

“At the end of the day, it falls on me for not double and triple checking before taking it. Being injured and sidelined from the sport I’ve spent the last 16 years training for has been incredibly rough, both mentally and physically. The could’ve, would’ve, should’ve won’t change anything now.”

Hafez noted that he’d never before had any issues with a drug test, and planned to learn from the experience. He went on to add that “now it’s time to accept the outcome, move forward, and do better in the future. I can’t wait to see you guys in the Octagon again.”

Neither CSAD nor the UFC have issued comment on Hafez’s current status.

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He’s also been benched for a period of 12 months following a positive drug test.

Kazakhstan’s Idiris (10-1, 1NC), 31, a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter 33, tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic, in an in-competition drug test whose sample was collected on February 21, 2026.

Hydrochlorothiazide is banned at all times under the UFC’s Anti-Doping Policy.

As a result of the positive test, Idiris’ unanimous decision win over Ode Osbourne at UFC Houston on Feb. 21 has been overturned to a No Contest. Additionally, CSAD (Combat Sports Anti-Doping) has shelved the fighter 12 months, after he confessed to using the substance to help make weight for the fight.

Due to knowingly using a banned substance, despite his cooperation in the ensuing investigation and admission, Idiris did not receive any reduction to his suspension, which will expire on February 21, 2027.

CSAD also provided the relevant records to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations (TDLR), who are responsible for amending the record of the fight. TDLR may also choose to adjudicate the drug test failure separately (beyond the CSAD suspension), as they retain jurisdiction over the fight.

Alibi Idiris fought in The Ultimate Fighter 33 finale, losing to Joseph Morales at UFC 319 last August in his only other UFC appearance.

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In a recent press release, CSAD officials announced that Brazil’s Lucindo (18-6), 24, had tested positive for mesterolone, a substance banned at all times by the UFC’s Anti-Doping Policy as administered by CSAD.

Lucindo’s positive test dates back to an out-of-competition sample collected on September 24, 2025, in Feira de Santana, Brazil. Her suspension is backdated accordingly.

Documentation provided by Lucindo revealed the possibility of a contaminated supplement, per the CSAD’s press release. Lucindo tested negative in August 2025, with low levels of mesterolone turning up in her September sample. The fighter was able to provide investigators with official government documentation from a Brazilian pharmacy where she obtained compounded dietary supplements.

The circumstances surrounding Lucindo’s positive test saw her period of ineligibility reduced from a possible one year, to nine months. She’ll be eligible to return to action on June 24, 2026.

Lucindo had been booked into a fight with Gillian Robertson in September, but was pulled from the bout as a result of the adverse finding. She’s 5-1 in his last six fights, and coming off a victory over Angela Hill. She currently sits ranked #7 in the 115lb division.

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It could have been worse.

Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) announced the news on Tuesday, revealing that Ukraine’s Moroz (11-6) had failed drug tests stemming from samples collected on June 25, 2025, and July 16, 2025. In both cases, Moroz tested positive for meldonium, a substance banned at all times under the UFC’s Anti-Doping Policy, which is administered by CSAD.

Of note, “Moroz provided medical documentation that she was under the care of a licensed physician who was treating her reported medical symptoms with meldonium.  However, Moroz did not tell her physician that she was a drug tested athlete, did not check with UFC-provided resources about the prohibited status of meldonium and she did not submit an application for a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) to seek permission to use the otherwise prohibited substance for medical reasons,” CSAD’s press release on the matter states.

However, while she could have faced a two-year ban, Moroz had her potential suspension cut in half due to her full cooperation with the investigation.

Moroz’s suspension is backdated to July 17, 2025, the date on which she was notified of her provisional suspension.

The 33-year old has not competed since March of 2024, when she lost a split decision against the retiring Joanne Wood — Moroz’s third straight loss in as many fights.

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For the first time in 2025, McGregor has undergone drug testing, now carried out by Drug Free Sport and CSAD (Combat Sports Anti-Doping), after the UFC parted ways with USADA.

McGregor’s name turns up on the UFC’s official test history website, showing he’s been tested once this year (h/t MMA Fighting). While the date of that test is unclear, McGregor’s name was not present prior to August.

The Irish star had announced his return to the drug testing pool in late July, sharing images of his first test, which should give some context as to when it occurred. While he was tested multiple times prior to 2024’s planned fight with Michael Chandler at UFC 303, a broken toe took him out of that bout.

McGregor had not been tested in recent months, either in 2025 or late 2024. He has not fought since suffering a broken leg in the rubber match of his trilogy with Dustin Poirier in 2021.

With the announcement of the UFC event at the White House, however, the former featherweight and lightweight champion has expressed interest in returning to competition. Who his opponent might be, and whether Michael Chandler remains of interest, remains to be seen.

Conor McGregor was recently seen fighting another battle, a losing effort in his appeal of a civil trial that found him liable for allegations of sexual assault dating back to a 2018 incident in his native Ireland.

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de Andrade (29-5), 39, has been hit with a six-month ban for violating the UFC’s Anti-Doping Policy, albeit not intentionally.

In a statement issued by the promotion and CSAD (Combat Sports Anti-Doping, the UFC’s drug testing body), it was revealed that de Andrade had tested positive for furosemide in an out of competition drug test collected on February 14, 2025. Furosemide is prohibited from use at all times under the UFC’s Anti-Doping Policy; Douglas Silva de Andrade was subsequently pulled from his fight with John Castaneda as a result, scheduled for just two weeks later.

During the investigation of his case, the bantamweight provided a dietary supplement that did not list furosemide on its label of listed ingredients, which later tested positive for furosemide in a test conducted by the Sport Medicine and Research Testing Laboratory (SMRTL) in Salt Lake City, Utah. An independently sourced sealed container of that same supplement also tested positive for the substance.

Although that would on the surface clear Douglas Silva de Andrade of having intentionally cheated, the supplement was not on the UFC’s approved supplement list. As a result, he’s still subject to a six-month suspension, backdated to February 28, 2025, when he was provisionally suspended.

CSAD has also forwarded their findings to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, who may issue their own sanction due to the fighter having had a bout scheduled in their jurisdiction at the time of the infraction.

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Voievodkin earned a shot at the big show last year, care of a rear-naked choke submission of the previously undefeated Bailey Schoenfelder on week seven of the series. However, on Thursday, the UFC, in conjunction with CSAD (Combat Sports Anti-Doping), who oversee the promotion’s Anti-Doping program, announced that Voievodkin had been handed a two-year suspension after failing a drug test.

The Ukrainian, whose own record sits at 7-0, tested positive for meldonium. If the name rings a bell, it’s because the drug was at the heart of a wide-ranging doping scandal that hit the Russian Olympic team, which also ensnared professional athletes from Russia and neighboring countries. Including tennis star Maria Sharipova.

In 2022, the drug constituted 14 of 57 banned substance cases among Russian athletes – according to the Russian Anti-Doping Agency. Meldonium is not used in North America, but is prescribed in Russia, where it was developed, to treat coronary heart disease by increasing blood flow.

It doesn’t take a chemist to recognize the advantages increased blood flow might give a professional athlete. And, shockingly, it seems few professional athletes in the prime of their careers actually suffer from coronary heart disease.

That would include Voievodkin, who is just 24. According to CSAD, Voievodkin tested positive for the drug in an out of competition sample collected from him on October 17, 2024, in Vilnius, Lithuania. There were no mitigating circumstances, meaning the full 24-month suspension for the drug applies, backdated to that date. “The evidence in this case reflected that sometime after Voivodkin competed in his Dana White Contender Series event in September of 2024, where he was awarded a UFC contract, he used Meldonium after he was onboarded into the UFC’S Anti-Doping Program’s (UFC ADP’s) Registered Testing Pool,” Thursday’s press release reads.

Per an additional report by MMA Fighting, Voievodkin has been cut by the UFC.

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Pajuelo, 29, a native of Peru, joined the UFC rank and file earlier this year, losing via submission to Fernando Padilla at a Fight Night event on March 23, 2024.

While Pajuelo did not have a second fight on the books, he was subjected to an out-of-competition drug test on August 5, with a second sample collected on August 21, 2024 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Per a press release by Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) via the UFC’s official website, Pajuelo “tested positive for the presence of 19-norandrosterone and Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS) analysis that reflected values consistent with the exogenous origin of testosterone and its metabolites, both anabolic steroids that are prohibited at all times” under the UFC’s Anti-Doping Policy (ADP).

Pajuello admitted to using deca-durabolin (nandrolone) ahead of the sample collections, and as a result, the UFC has terminated the featherweight’s contract. His 24-month suspension is likely to be upheld in jurisdictions that recognize such sanctions, which will likely prevent him from competing in the U.S., Canada, and much of Europe.

Luis Pajuelo earned himself a shot in the UFC via a win on the 2023 edition of Dana White’s Contender Series, where he finished Robbie Ring with a knee.

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Lutterbach (38-10) was supposed to have faced Shara Magomedov back in June at UFC Saudi Arabia. The 31-year old veteran of nearly 50 MMA bouts (not to mention boxing, kickboxing, Karate Combat and Muay Thai beyond that) was pulled from the card, however.

Now, CSAD (Combat Sports Anti-Doping), the UFC-backed body that oversees their drug testing program these days, has announced that Lutterbach has been hit with a two-year sanction after testing positive for 3a-Hydroxy-2a-methyl-5a-androstan-17-one, a metabolite of drostanolone, an anabolic steroid.

The substance is banned from use by UFC athletes at all times under the promotion’s Anti-Doping Policy (ADP).

Of note, Joilton Lutterbach, who previously competed for the PFL, later admitted to extensive use of the steroid, despite being given the opportunity to declare such usage during his onboarding process with the UFC.

Per a press release on the matter, “Upon being notified by UFC personnel of the positive test on June 20, 2024, at the UFC host hotel in Saudi Arabia, Lutterbach admitted to extensive use of drostanolone in the months before he was signed to a UFC contract.  Upon being added to the UFC Anti-Doping Program, all athletes are required to declare the use of any prohibited substances they have used over the last 12 months.  An athlete who makes such a declaration will not be deemed to have committed a violation, but depending on the substance and circumstances, may be required to refrain from competition for a period of at least 180 days and provide at least two negative sample results.  Lutterbach did not declare his use of drostanolone on his onboarding declaration form while admitting that he realized he should have done so.”

Lutterbach’s suspension has been backdated to June, and will expire in 2026. He won’t be setting foot in the octagon then, however. “Immediately after the return of this result and Lutterbach’s admission of the use of drostanolone, the UFC terminated his contract.”

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On Friday, the CSAD (Combat Sports Anti-Doping), the body currently overseeing drug testing for the UFC, announced that Alekseeva (5-2) had been flagged for “the administration of testosterone of exogenous origin” and had accepted a 12-month suspension under the UFC’s Anti-Doping Policy.

The failed test in question took place on June 21, 2023, at which time the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) was still in charge of the promotion’s anti-doping efforts. However, Alekseeva was able to compete at a UFC Fight Night event on October 14, 2023, nearly four full months later.

According to the CSAD statement, posted to UFC.com, “USADA failed to report the results of this sample to her [Alekseeva] and to UFC until October 31, 2023, more than four (4) months after the sample was collected and AFTER Alekseeva was allowed to compete in a UFC event in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 14, 2023.”

The reason for the delay in reporting is not cited; Cageside Press has issued a request for comment to USADA. In the meantime, it appears the CSAD ordered additional testing on two later drug test samples Alekseeva had submitted following the failed test, on August 8, 2023, and September 13, 2023. Both USADA, and the additional testing by CSAD, found those samples to be negative.

As a result of the late return of her test results, however, Irina Alekseeva was able to compete at a point she normally would have been unable to. And her suspension period has been adjusted as a result, with her period on ineligibility backdated to October 14 of last year, the date she last fought.

Delayed reporting, which hindered Alekseeva’s ability to produce evidence and recall facts, as well as her cooperation in the investigation and subsequent negative tests, factored into her eventual penalty, per CSAD.

Neither Alekseeva nor her team have commented on the matter publicly. The CSAD took over from USADA on December 31, 2023, with Drug Free Sport handling sample collection.

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