Recently released UFC heavyweight Josh Barnett was a guest on the first episode of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on ESPN, and had some serious complaints about how USADA handled his case.
Barnett tested positive for the banned substance Ostarine in December 2016, and was facing a multi-year suspension from USADA over the positive test. The case dragged on for over a year until Barnett became the first UFC fighter to win a significant victory over USADA in arbitration.
Rather than the lengthy suspension USADA felt was correct, the arbitrator ruled that Barnett should only receive a reprimand, and that he only bore the minimum amount of fault for his positive test.