USADA suspended the former UFC light heavyweight champion for 18 months due to a UFC anti-doping violation, it was announced Wednesday. The suspension is retroactive to April 8, 2016, so Machida will be eligible to compete again in October 2017.
The popular Brazilian fighter declared his usage of a product containing the banned substance 7-keto-dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a steroid, during that sample collection back in April. Machida confirmed use of the product and said he did not know it contained a prohibited drug. The substance 7-keto-DHEA was listed as an ingredient, so it was not a tainted supplement situation.