UFC Lightweight Marco Polo Reyes Accepts 6-Month Suspension for Anti-Doping Violation

Marco Polo Reyes has accepted a six-month suspension for an anti-doping violation, USADA announced Monday.

The UFC lightweight tested positive for the banned substance ostarine in an out-of-competition drug test conducted on March 8. It was determined that Reyes’ failed drug test resulted from a contaminated supplement, which resulted in a reduced sanction from the maximum of two years.

Since Reyes’ suspension began on March 15, he was eligible to return to UFC competition on Sept. 15. “El Toro” has been victorious in four of his five Octagon appearances, most recently scoring a 60-second knockout of Matt Frevola at UFC Fight Night 124 on Jan. 14.

The full USADA statement is as follows:

USADA announced today that Marco Leopoldo Reyes, known professionally as Polo Reyes, of Nayarit, Mexico, has accepted a six-month sanction for a violation of the UFC® Anti-Doping Policy after testing positive for a prohibited substance from a contaminated supplement. Reyes, 33, tested positive for ostarine following an out-of-competition test conducted on March 8, 2018. Ostarine is a non-Specified Substance in the class of Anabolic Agents and prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, which has adopted the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List.

Ostarine, also known as MK-2866 and Enobosarm, is a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) that is illegally sold worldwide as a performance-enhancing substance. Ostarine is not currently available as a prescription medication in any country, and its unauthorized use may carry serious side effects. Nonetheless, ostarine has been found as a declared and undeclared ingredient in many dietary supplements. More information about the risks of ostarine can be found through a USADA athlete advisory.

Following notification of his positive test, Reyes provided USADA with information about two dietary supplement products he was using at the time of the relevant sample collection. Although no prohibited substances were listed on the supplement labels, testing conducted on independently sourced, unopened containers of the products by the WADA-accredited laboratory in Salt Lake City, Utah, indicated that they contained Ostarine.

The presence of an undisclosed prohibited substance in a product is regarded as contamination. Accordingly, the product has since been added to the list of high risk supplements maintained on USADA’s online dietary supplement safety education and awareness resource – Supplement 411 (www.Supplement411.org).

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. Where contamination is established, the sanction for a doping offense involving a non-Specified Substance ranges from a reprimand and no period of ineligibility, at a minimum, to a two-year period of ineligibility, at a maximum.

Here, USADA took into consideration the circumstances that resulted in Reyes’ positive test, including his failure to thoroughly research the contaminated supplement and supplier. As such, USADA determined that a six-month period of ineligibility was an appropriate sanction under the rules for his violation.

Reyes’ six-month period of ineligibility began on March 15, 2018, the date on which he 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.