UFC heavyweight Dmitrii Smoliakov will be out until 2021 after receiving a two-year suspension from USADA after failing a pair of drug tests.
USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) announced the news on Tuesday.
“Smoliakov, 37, tested positive for recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) and intact human chorionic gonadtrophin (hCG) as the result of urine samples he provided out-of-competition on April 22, 2019 and in-competition on April 27, 2019 at ESPN+ (Fight Night) 10, where he lost by technical knockout,” USADA officials wrote in a statement.
“rHuEPO is a synthetic hormone used to stimulate the body’s production of red blood cells, thereby increasing oxygen transport and aerobic power, and is prohibited at all times in the class of Peptide Hormones, Growth Factors, Related Substances, and Mimetics under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, which has adopted the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List.