Frank Mir is denying having taken any banned substances, releasing a statement in reaction to the USADA notification of a violation regarding a sample submitted for testing on March 20, the day of his UFC Fight Night 85 main event loss to Mark Hunt.
“To all my fans and supporters, I recently have been notified by USADA that the test I took on the night of the fight came back positive for a substance that I did not take,” Mir’s statement read. “I don’t know how that is possible as I did not take any performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) to compete. I have never tested positive for a banned substance since joining the UFC and becoming a [two time] champion. I ask all of you to hold judgment against me until all the facts have been revealed.”
Mir, 36, has been competing in the UFC for over 15 years. The loss to Hunt in Australia was his second straight, and sixth in his last eight fights. He faces up to a two year suspension over the alleged violation.
Penick’s Analysis: Obviously as we saw with the Yoel Romero, should this come as a result of a tainted supplement, he won’t face much of a suspension, but the burden will be on him to provide proof of that if it is indeed his argument. For the moment, he’s claiming he did not knowingly take anything, and if that’s truthful he’ll be trying to figure out how the alleged substance could have then wound up in his system. It’s a process that will take time to play out, and detractors of the current set up can point to this as perhaps an unfair system where he’s potentially vilified prematurely.
[Frank Mir art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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