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B.J. Penn Receives 6 Months Suspension For IV Use

B.J. Penn Receives 6 Months Suspension For IV Use

 

 

UFC’s anti doping partnership with USADA spawned another suspension. This time the suspension went to UFC Hall of Famers – B.J. Penn retroactive to March 25th when he admitted using a banned IV.

 

This means Penn will be unable to fight in the UFC until UFC 205 scheduled for November 12th in New York.

Just a couple days earlier B.J. Penn (born Jay Dee Penn) called out his two time opponent – Georges St-Pierre looking for a fight.

USADA considered that B.J. Penn volunteered the incriminating information:

During an out-of-competition test on March 25, 2016, Penn declared the use of an intravenous infusion of a non-prohibited substance. A subsequent investigation by USADA revealed that the intravenous infusion received by Penn was administered in a volume greater than 50 mL within a 6 hour period.

Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, intravenous infusions in a volume greater than 50 mL within a 6 hour period are prohibited, except for those legitimately received in the course of hospital admissions, surgical procedures or clinical investigations. Intravenous infusions received in any other setting require an approved Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE).

Penn, 37, voluntarily disclosed his use of the intravenous infusion and fully cooperated with USADA’s investigation into the circumstances regarding his violation. Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, the standard period of ineligibility may be reduced due to an individual’s voluntary admission of a violation and/or pursuant to an analysis of the individual’s degree of fault for the violation.

Here, after taking both of those factors into consideration, USADA determined that a 6-month period of ineligibility was an appropriate sanction under the rules for Penn’s violation.

Penn’s period of ineligibility began on March 25, 2016, the date on which he admitted his anti-doping policy violation to USADA.

 

This type of rigorous punishment is particularly interesting in light of Brock Lesnar being allowed to compete with an examption at UFC 200 in spite of not being tested according to UFC/USADA regulations that state that if a fighter is to come out of retirement, or if the UFC signs a new fighter, they need to give the USADA 4 months notice so the organization can have an adequate amount of time to test the fighter leading up to his or her bout.