UFC announces provisional suspension for Mirko Cro Cop due to “potential anti-doping policy violation”

By Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Mirko Cro Cop

Just one day after announcing his retirement, Mirko Cro Cop has been suspended by the UFC over a “potential anti-doping policy violation.”

The UFC announced the provisional suspension on Wednesday night, releasing the following statement:

UFC announced today that a scheduled bout between Mirko Cro Cop and Anthony Hamilton in Seoul, South Korea has been canceled. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has notified both Mirko Cro Cop and UFC that he has been provisionally suspended at this time due to a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation.

USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Cro Cop. Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time in the process.

Hamilton will be booked for a new bout on a card in the near future.

Cro Cop on Tuesday had said he pulled out of the fight on his own due to injury, and announced that he was retiring from the sport as a result.

Penick’s Analysis: Well this is a turn on the narrative. They haven’t announced just what the violation is, and there are numerous possibilities on that front, but it’s going to cloud his retirement. Now, he got out ahead of things with his retirement announcement to begin with, but this absolutely puts a significant damper on how he goes out.

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