Roman Dolidze Suspended For One Year Prior to Making UFC Debut

Roman Dolidze has accepted a one year suspension after being flagged by USADA.

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— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) August 23, 2019

Prospective Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight Roman Dolidze has been shut down for a year before ever setting foot inside the Octagon.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced on Friday that Dolidze tested positive for multiple substances, and accepted a one-year suspension following those test results. The Ukrainian tested positive for clomiphene and "a long-term metabolite of dehydrochlormethyltestosterone (DHCMT), 4-chloro-18-nor-17β-hydroxymethyl,17α-methyl-5α-androst-13-en-3α-ol (M3)." Due to his cooperation and willingness to work with the drug testing agency, his suspension was reduced from a potentially longer period down to one year. He will be eligible to active competition in March 2020, dating retroactively to his positive test earlier this year.

Originally set to make his UFC debut against Gadzhimurad Antigulov at UFC Fight Night 149 in April, Dolidze withdrew unexpectedly. He was then scheduled to face Vinicius Moreira at UFC on ESPN 3 in June, but again withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons. It is unclear at this point whether the positive test affected his placement on either of those cards, as the failed out-of-competition test occurred in March.

Dolidze is unbeaten as a professional across six fights, with all six ending before the final bell. His most recent appearance came against One Championship veteran Michal Pasternak, where he became the first fighter to ever knock out the Polish light heavyweight. Prior to signing with the Las Vegas-based promotion, Dolidze moved to train at Jackson-Wink MMA, where he frequently trains with UFC light heavyweight king Jon Jones.

USADA's statement regarding Dolidze is as follows:

USADA announced today that Roman Dolidze, of Odessa, Ukraine, has accepted a one-year sanction for a violation of the UFC® Anti-Doping Policy after testing positive for prohibited substances.

Dolidze, 31, tested positive for clomiphene and its metabolites M1 and M2, as well as a long-term metabolite of dehydrochlormethyltestosterone (DHCMT), 4-chloro-18-nor-17β-hydroxymethyl,17α-methyl-5α-androst-13-en-3α-ol (M3), as the result of an out-of-competition urine sample collected on March 12, 2019. Clomiphene is a Specified Substance in the category of Hormone and Metabolic Modulators, while DHCMT is a non-Specified Substance in the class of Anabolic Agents. Both substances are prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, which has adopted the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List.

Dolidze immediately came forward with detailed evidence of his use of prohibited substances before entering the UFC Anti-Doping Program and continued to cooperate throughout USADA's investigation related to his use. Based on the specific details of the case, Dolidze received a reduction from otherwise applicable period of ineligibility.

Dolidze' one-year period of ineligibility began on March 12, 2019, the date his positive sample was collected.