George Sullivan Notified of Second Anti-Doping Violation, Removed from UFC 208 Card

George Sullivan, whose one-year suspension for a previous anti-doping violation was set to end on Jan. 31, has been notified of a second potential infraction by USADA.

The UFC released a statement on Thursday revealing that Sullivan failed a drug test stemming from an out-of-competition sample collected on Jan. 14. As a result, Sullivan has been provisionally suspended and pulled from his scheduled UFC 208 clash against Randy Brown. The promotion is in the process of seeking a replacement opponent for Brown on the Feb. 11 card in Brooklyn.

As usual, USADA will handle results management and adjudication of the case, and Sullivan is entitled to a full legal review process. Sullivan was previously serving a one-year suspension for his use of a product containing the prohibited substance Insulin Growth Factor -1 (IGF -1).

Sullivan last appeared at UFC on Fox 18 in January 2016, when he was submitted by Alexander Yakovlev in the first frame. He was booked to face Hector Urbina at UFC on Fox 20 in July but was pulled from that card due to what was initially referred to as a “compliance issue” with the anti-doping policy.

Sullivan has since issued a statement on his Facebook page:

Hey guys it's a misunderstanding about a fertility pill I started taking [three] weeks ago to try and have a baby. [Dr.] Morgan is sending in all of his paper work tomorrow to clear this up,” he wrote. “I'm sad that it came to this. My [doctor] and I are shocked, and we will clear this up. I have all the documents to prove it. I love my wife and starting a family is everything to us ! God bless.”