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It Wasn't Vitor Belfort; Thiago Tavares Tests Positive for Steroids Following UFC on FX 7

It Wasn't Vitor Belfort; Thiago Tavares Tests Positive for Steroids Following UFC on FX 7

All 22 fighters on the recent UFC on FX 7 card were drug tested at the event and all fighters passed their drug tests with the exception of Thiago Tavares.

UFC on FX 7 took place on Jan. 19 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Tavares tested positive for the presence of Drostanolone, an anabolic steroid and banned substance.

He has been informed that he will receive a nine-month suspension retroactive to the date of the event, according to UFC officials. Tavares must also pass a drug test upon completion of the suspension before receiving clearance to compete again.

There was speculation that main eventer Vitor Belfort had tested positive, something that UFC president Dana White vehemently denied.

“There wan an irregular test. Something was wrong,” White said after Saturday night’s UFC 156 post-fight press conference. “Whenever something wrong happens, or weird, (the samples) get retested and, usually, it’s not a good thing.

“It (expletive) was not Vitor Belfort. Yet, right now I bet if you talked to 100 people, 100 people will tell you that Vitor Belfort failed his drug test in Brazil. That’s (expletive).”

Zuffa, the UFC’s parent company, reiterated that sentiment, saying, “Vitor Belfort’s drug test results were negative and did not indicate the presence of any performance enhancing drugs.

“Belfort has been on a medically approved testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) regimen under the supervision of a medical doctor from the State of Nevada, after being diagnosed with hypogonadism, or low testosterone.

“The purpose of a medically administered TRT regimen is to allow patients with hypogonadism to maintain testosterone levels within a range that is normal for an adult male.”

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