Heavyweight fighter Mohammed Usman has been suspended two years and six months for violating the UFC Anti-Doping Policy.
Combat Sports Anti-Doping, which is the organization that independently administers the UFC’s anti-doping program, announced that Usman tested positive for a prohibited substance before his last scheduled fight and that he did not take responsibility in a timely manner.
The failed test stemmed from a from an out-of-competition sample collected Sept. 8, 2025. Usman had been scheduled to face Valter Walker at a UFC Fight Night event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in October, but that fight was pulled from the card the week of the fight after the results from the September test were disclosed.
No specific reason for Usman’s withdrawal was given at the time of his October withdrawal and an announcement was not made until mere hours before the official weigh-in on the eve of the event.
Usman tested positive for the presence of testosterone ahead of his bout with Walker and also later admitted to previous use of the peptide BPC-157, both of which are prohibited at all times for UFC athletes in active competition.
“While Usman ultimately took responsibility for the above details, he did not do so in a timely fashion and not until CSAD confronted him with evidence they had independently collected during a detailed investigation of his use of these multiple prohibited substances as well as his attempt to deceive CSAD with a false explanation,” a press release stated. “Under the (UFC Anti-Doping Policy), if a UFC athlete uses multiple substances like Usman did and engages in deceptive or obstructive conduct to avoid the adjudication of an Anti-Doping Policy Violation like he did, then aggravating circumstances are determined to exist.
“While aggravating circumstances can double a standard suspension, because Usman ultimately admitted to the prohibited behaviour, CSAD determined that a six-month addition to the standard two-year suspension for using these substances was appropriate for these aggravating factors.”
The 2.5-year ban is retroactive to when Usman accepted the suspension on Oct. 9, 2025, which means the suspension will conclude on April 9, 2028.
The 36-year-old is the younger brother of former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and had been coming off a decision win over Hamdy Abdelwahab in June.
Usman, who will be 39 when he is next eligible to compete, is 11-4 in professional mixed martial arts since debuting in the sport in 2017. He earned his way onto the UFC roster after having success appearing on The Ultimate Fighter reality series in 2022 and has gone 3-2 in the UFC since then, with all five bouts going to a decision.
