Reigning champ Rob Wilkinson becomes 10th PFL fighter to fail a drug test, removed from 2023 season

Rob Wilkinson, the reigning PFL light heavyweight champion, has failed a drug test and been removed from the 2023 season.

MMAMania was the first to report the news that Wilkinson has been pulled from PFL 4, which takes place on June 8 after failing a drug test following his win over former UFC title challenger, Thiago Santos, at PFL 1 in April.

Wilkinson was scheduled to face Ty Flores in PFL 4’s co-main event, but after failing the drug test he has been suspended and removed from the season. Replacing the reigning champ will be Dan Spohn will now be fighting Flores on June 8 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Rob Wilkinson also becomes the 10th PFL fighter to be suspended and removed from the season following a failed drug test. The other nine fighters that failed a drug test were Thiago Santos – who Wilkinson beat – Alejandro Flores, Krzysztof Jotko, Bruno Cappelloza, Rizvan Kuniev, Mohammed Fakreddine, Cezar Ferreira, Will Fleury, and Daniel Torres.

RELATED: Nine different PFL flagged for positive drug tests.

Following the news of the nine fighters being suspended, PFL released a statement saying they have a zero-tolerance policy for any type of performance-enhancing drug.

“PFL has been notified by the Nevada State Athletic Commission that several fighters who competed in the two PFL 2023 Regular Season events this past April have been temporarily suspended until further review by the Commission,” the statement read. “PFL has a zero-tolerance policy related to the usage of banned substances and complies with the U.S. State Athletic Commission requirements. Further, as the PFL moves towards the highest level of testing and compliance in the sport, PFL is engaged with USADA on the implementation of its athlete anti-doping program.”

Rob Wilkinson (18-2) picked up the decision win over Thiago Santos in the regular season opener after winning last year’s season. To win last year’s title, Wilkinson beat Omari Akhmedov by TKO in the finals. He is also a UFC veteran having gone 0-2 losing to Siyar Bahadurzada by TKO and Israel Adesanya by TKO, in Adesanya’s UFC debut.