Ovince St. Preux Accepts 6-Month Suspension for Second Anti-Doping Violation

Ovince St. Preux, a veteran of 26 Ultimate Fighting Championship appearances, has accepted a six-month USADA suspension after testing positive for a banned substance.

USADA announced the sanctions in a statement on Monday. In his most recent violation, St. Preux tested positive for 3α-hydroxy-5α-androst-1-en-17-one — a long-term metabolite of 1-Androstenedione and/or 1-Testosterone — in out-of-competition samples collected on June 17 and July 11. Because St. Preux was not informed of the first positive test when the second sample was collected, the results were merged into one violation per the UFC’s anti-doping policy.

It was determined that St. Preux’s positive test resulted from a contaminated supplement, which according to USADA resulted in a reduced suspension. However, the former University of Tennessee football player also received a three-month sanction for using a contaminated supplement in October 2019. That resulted in St. Preux receiving a longer suspension for his latest anti-doping violation.

St. Preux’s suspension is retroactive to June 17, meaning that he will be eligible to return to UFC competition on Dec. 17. “OSP” was most recently scheduled to face Ion Cutelaba at UFC on ESPN 50 on Aug. 5 before being pulled from the event. The 40-year-old Knoxville MMA product has lost three of his last four promotional appearances. He last competed at UFC Fight Night 219 on Feb. 23, when he suffered a first-round knockout loss to Philipe Lins.