Former UFC Signee Ivan Shtyrkov Accepts 2-Year USADA Suspension

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship signee Ivan Shtyrkov has been suspended for two years by USADA for an anti-doping violation.

“USADA announced today that Ivan Shtyrkov, of Kosulino, Russia, has accepted a two-year sanction for a violation of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy after testing positive for a prohibited substance,” the statement read.

“Shtyrkov, 31, who was added to the UFC roster in the middle of March, had two out-of-competition urine samples collected on March 27, 2019 and April 3, 2019 reported as atypical shortly before he was scheduled to compete in a UFC bout. USADA notified the UFC of the laboratory’s initial atypical findings, and out of an abundance of caution, the UFC removed Shtyrkov from the card in which he was scheduled to compete. After conducting additional analysis, the laboratory reported both Shtyrkov’s samples as positive for boldenone and its metabolite 5β-androst-1-en-17β-ol-3-one. Confirmation of the positive tests was achieved using the sensitive isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS) method, which reported laboratory results consistent with the exogenous origin of boldenone and its metabolite. Boldenone 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.”

Shtyrkov was scheduled to face Devin Clark at UFC Fight Night 149 this past April but was pulled from the bout due to abnormal findings in his drug tests, which turned out to be exogenous testosterone. The Russian fighter requested, and was granted, his release from the Las Vegas-based promotion.

While Shtyrkov’s suspension won’t end until March 2021, he has signed with Rizin Fighting Federation and is scheduled to make his debut with the Japanese promotion against Hoon Kim on July 28 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Shtyrkov’s bout with Hoon is expected to move forward as planned despite the suspension, as Rizin isn’t regulated by any type of commission.

Shtyrkov owns a 15-0-1 professional record that includes victories over Thiago Silva, Fabio Maldonado, former Bellator champ Christian M’Pumbu, Antonio Silva, Philip De Fries and Satoshi Ishii, among others.