Ruslan Magomedov, Zubaira Tukhugov Take 2-Year USADA Bans for Positive Ostarine Tests

Russians Ruslan Magomedov and Zubaira Tukhugov won’t be in the Octagon any time soon.

On Thursday, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s drug-testing partner, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, announced that both fighters had accepted two-year suspensions stemming from failed drug tests.

Both fighters failed out-of-competition tests for the same substance, ostarine, a selective androgen receptor modulator designed to help muscle growth. Magomedov, 31, and Tukhugov, 27, both failed tested administered on Sept. 7, 2016, while Tukhugov failed an additional out-of-competition test on Oct. 29 of the same year.

Both suspensions are retroactive to Sept. 26, 2016, when both fighters were temporarily suspended by USADA.

“The athletes presented testimony and submitted evidence in an attempt to support their supplement contamination claims and request for a reduced period of ineligibility,” USADA claimed in a public release. “Nevertheless, after two days of testimony, USADA informed Magomedov and Tukhugov that it was still unwilling to consider a reduced sanction because it did not believe supplement contamination was a valid explanation for their positive tests.”

Magomedov, a winner of nine bouts in a row, hasn’t fought since his UFC 192 decision win over Shawn Jordan at UFC 192 in October 2015. He was scheduled to meet Stefan Struve at UFC 204, but pulled out of the bout due to a staph infection.

Tukhugov hasn’t been in the Octagon since UFC 198 in May 2016, losing a split decision to Renato Carneiro. He was scheduled to meet Tiago dos Santos e Silva at UFC Fight Night 102, but was pulled due USADA announcing his provisional suspension.