Cortney Casey Receives 4-Month Suspension After Self-Reporting Banned Substance

Cortney Casey Accepts Sanction for Violation of UFC Anti-Doping Policy https://t.co/1nOaUFbRpY

— USADA (@usantidoping) September 14, 2023

Cortney Casey will be eligible to fight again on Oct. 1.

Per the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency on Thursday, Casey has been handed down a brief four-month sanction due to her taking of banned substance BPC-157. This product, an experimental peptide that, according to USADA, is not yet legal to take, is linked towards potential treatment of various gastrointestinal diseases. It is rumored to have additional benefits that could include improving injury recovery time or healing torn muscles and tendons.

Casey informed USADA that she was taking this after learning that it was a not a permitted substance. She claimed that it was prescribed by a doctor to help treat an unspecified medical issue. As she did not test positive for the substance, and was otherwise cooperative and forthcoming about taking it, USADA determined a four-month ban from competition would be suitable to let it completely leave her system. The start date of the suspension will be effective June 1, which is around when she stated she last took BPC-157.

The full statement from USADA reads as follows:

“USADA announced today that Cortney Casey, of Glendale, Ariz., has accepted a four-month sanction for a violation of the UFC® Anti-Doping Policy.

“Casey, 36, self-reported the use of a prohibited substance, BPC-157, to the UFC on June 21, 2023. BPC-157 is a Specified Substance in the class of Non-Approved Substances and is prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and UFC Prohibited List.

“Casey immediately provided documentation confirming that she was prescribed and provided BPC-157 by a doctor to help treat a medical condition. After using the substance for a short period of time, she learned that BPC-157 is a prohibited substance and came forward about her use to the UFC. A Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) was not applicable to this Non-Approved Substance. Casey was eligible for a reduction to the period of ineligibility based on her forthright declaration and for her Full and Complete Cooperation.

“Casey’s four-month period of ineligibility began on June 1, 2023, the approximate date that she last used the prohibited substance.”

The longtime veteran, with an even professional record of 10 wins opposite 10 defeats, has been with the promotion since 2015. The Arizona native last set foot in the Octagon in July 2022, where she dropped a razor-close split decision to Antonina Shevchenko. Casey has yet to string together consecutive wins since she stopped Cristina Stanciu and Randa Markos in back-to-back outings in 2016. Throughout her career, she has notched wins over names like Angela Hill, Jessica Aguilar and Tomo Maesawa.