Brock Lesnar failed an out-of-competition drug test. UFC issued the following statement on the matter via UFC.com.
“The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Brock Lesnar of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection on June 28, 2016. USADA received the testing results from the June 28, 2016 sample collection from the WADA-accredited UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory on the evening of July 14, 2016.
“USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case. It is important to note that, under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full fair legal review process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed. The Nevada State Athletic Commission also retains jurisdiction over this matter as the sample collection was performed in close proximity to Lesnar’s bout at UFC 200 in Las Vegas.
“Consistent with all previous potential anti-doping violations, additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.”
Powell’s POV: Forget how WWE would react if Lesnar won or lost his UFC fight, this is the worst possible news that the company could have possibly received coming out of Lesnar’s high profile return to UFC. Technically, WWE could suspend Lesnar for 30 days per their own Wellness Policy and still have him return in time for his match with Randy Orton at SummerSlam on August 21, but the mainstream attention that Lesnar’s failure will receive is going to be substantial and could be a game changer. Lesnar defeated Mark Hunt on July 9, so his test failure occurred prior to the event, yet UFC was unaware of the failure until five days after the event. UFC policy is that Lesnar would be suspended for two years if the test failure stands. I suspect the mainstream media is going to have a field day if UFC suspends Lesnar for two years, yet WWE only suspends him for 30 days. WWE has yet to address the news of Lesnar’s test failure as of this update.
The headline is incorrect clickbait. Lesnar didn’t fail yet. UFC clearly used the word “potential.” The results of his B-sample have to be released and he has the option to appeal after that, should those results be positive.