UFC flyweight contender Jennifer Maia accepts six-month USADA suspension

11th-ranked UFC flyweight contender Jennifer Maia has accepted a six-month sanction from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) after testing positive for banned substances as the result of her ingestion of a tainted supplement.

This Jennifer Maia news was announced on the official USADA website. Here’s what the USADA release on the topic says:

Jennifer Maia, 30, tested positive for furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide, chlorothiazide, and the thiazide metabolite 4-amino-6-chloro-1,3-benzenedisulfonamide (ACB), following an out-of-competition test conducted on August 16, 2018. These substances are Specified Substances in the class of Diuretics and Masking Agents and are prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, which has adopted the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List.

During an investigation into the circumstances of her case, opened and sealed containers of a dietary supplement she was using at the time of the August 16, 2018 sample collection, and that she declared on her doping control form, were sent to the WADA-accredited laboratory in Brazil for analysis. Although no prohibited substances were listed on the supplement label, the analysis revealed that both contained the prohibited substances for which Maia tested positive. Accordingly, this product has been added to the High Risk List of supplements maintained on USADA’s online dietary supplement safety education and awareness resource – Supplement 411 (www.Supplement411.org). Further, USADA reminds athletes that dietary supplement products marketed for weight loss carry significant risk to contain prohibited prescription medications, such as diuretics.

Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, as well as the World Anti-Doping Code, the determination that an athlete’s positive test was caused by a contaminated product may result in a reduced sanction. The sanction for a doping offense resulting from the use of a contaminated product ranges from a reprimand and no period of ineligibility to a two-year period of ineligibility.

Maia’s six-month period of ineligibility began on August 31, 2018, the date on which she was provisionally suspended from competition. Pursuant to the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, all UFC athletes serving a period of ineligibility for an anti-doping policy violation are required to continue to make themselves available for testing to receive credit for time completed under their sanction.

for those wondering, this was the supplement that caused Jennifer Maia's positive test

On one hand you could say it looks innocent enough, on the other hand, no recognisable brand, its precisely the sort of things they are (meant to be) advised to avoid. pic.twitter.com/etpQhXc0eE

— Dave/Dim (@dimspace) January 15, 2019

Jennifer Maia last fought in July, when she came up short to Liz Carmouche in her UFC debut.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 1/15/2019.