Yair Rodriguez Suspended By USADA For Six Months

By Fight Sports Dec 3, 2020

Yair Rodriguez has been issued a suspension by USADA.

Rodriguez hasn’t been in action since October 2019. “El Pantera” was expected to collide with Zabit Magomedsharipov earlier this year, but he pulled out due to an ankle injury. Rodriguez will have to wait even longer before he steps back inside the Octagon.

USADA has issued a statement announcing that Rodriguez was hit with a six-month suspension due to three Whereabouts Failures. His sanction is retroactive to September 8, 2020. He will be eligible to compete again after March 8, 2021.

Here is the statement from USADA.

“USADA announced today that Yair Rodriguez, of Chihuahua, Mexico, has accepted a six-month sanction for a violation of the UFC^® Anti-Doping Policy resulting from three Whereabouts Failures during a 12-month period.

Like all UFC athletes, Rodriguez, 28, is a member of the UFC Registered Testing Pool and is therefore subject to certain Whereabouts responsibilities, which allow him to be located for testing. Accurate Whereabouts information is a crucial component of an effective out-of-competition testing program because it enables anti-doping organizations to conduct no-notice sample collections, which helps maintain effective doping deterrence and detection.

Rodriguez failed to update his Whereabouts information and was unavailable for testing at locations provided in his Whereabouts Filings on three occasions. He accrued a Whereabouts Failure in each of the first three quarters of 2020. The accumulation of three Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period constitutes a policy violation under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy.

Rodriguez was eligible for a reduction in the period of ineligibility because his conduct did not raise suspicion that he was trying to avoid being available for testing. He received reductions based on his degree of fault and for his Full and Complete Cooperation.

Rodriguez’s six-month period of ineligibility began on September 8, 2020, the date on which his third Whereabouts Failure was declared against him.”