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Filed under: Featured, News, UFC

Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos (18-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC) has been pulled from a planned fight with Francis Ngannou (10-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) due to a potential doping violation.

UFC officials today revealed the news after being notified by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy.

Dos Santos was flagged after an out-of-competition drug test conducted Aug. 10. Per standard USADA procedure, details on the nature of his anti-doping violation are being withheld during the results management process.

“Because of the proximity to Dos Santos’ upcoming scheduled bout at UFC 215 in Edmonton, Canada against Francis Ngannou, Dos Santos has been removed from the card and the UFC is currently seeking a replacement,” the UFC’s statement read. “Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full and fair legal process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed. Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.”

Dos Santos’ representatives issued a statement to MMAjunkie insisting the heavyweight has never taken performance-enhancing drugs and remains adamantly against their use in the sport.

“We are still trying to understand the test results, so that we can investigate and determine what happened,” the statement read. “What we know as of now is that Junior Dos Santos has never taken PED’s, has never knowingly used any banned substances, and has always supported USADA’s policies and efforts to keep the sport clean. If ever there was a fighter who made his position on this issue unequivocal, it’s Junior. We are confident that that we will be able to figure out what happened, and will provide an explanation once we have one.”

Ngannou immediately took to Twitter to post his frustration with the scrapped contest.

Dos Santos is currently ranked No. 5 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA heavyweight rankings, while Ngannou sits at No. 9.

Dos Santos last saw action in May, when he suffered a first-round knockout loss to current champ Stipe Miocic at UFC 211 in a failed bid to regain the title. Despite the result, the Brazilian slugger was anxious for a quick return to the cage.

Featuring a pair of championship matchups, UFC 215 takes place Sept. 9 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The night’s main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

For more on UFC 215, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

Filed under: Featured, News, UFC