UFC Lightweight Thibault Gouti Suspended 6 Months for Failed Drug Test

Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight Thibault Gouti has accepted a six-month suspension for failing an out-of-competition drug test on March 12.

According to USADA, Gouti tested positive after taking a supplement that contained multiple banned substances, including ostarine, a selective androgen receptor module that can assist athletes in training by improving stamina. Gouti received a reduced sanction because he returned the supplement shortly after its purchase and notified USADA of its contents and use.

As a result, USADA has added the product to its list of high-risk supplements. Gouti’s suspension, meanwhile, is retroactive to April 25, meaning that he will be eligible to return to active competition on Oct. 25.

A 32-year-old Frenchman who has trained at Jackson-Wink MMA, Gouti has been victorious in just one of his six UFC appearances. Most recently, Gouti dropped a three-round verdict to Nasrat Haqparast at UFC Fight Night 138 last October. Gouti owns a 12-5 professional mark overall.

USADA’s full statement is as follows:

USADA announced today that Thibault Gouti, of Albuquerque, N.M., has accepted a six-month sanction for a violation of the UFC® Anti-Doping Policy after testing positive for prohibited substances from a supplement.

Gouti, 32, tested positive for ostarine, LGD-4033 and its metabolite di-hydroxy-LGD-4033, and GW1516 metabolites GW1516 sulfoxide and GW1516 sulfone as the result of an out-of-competition urine sample he provided on March 12, 2019. LGD-4033 and ostarine are non-Specified Substances in the class of Anabolic Agents, while GW1516 is a non-Specified Substance in the category of Hormone and Metabolic Modulators. All of these substances are prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, which has adopted the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List.

Following notification of his positive test, Gouti provided USADA with information about a dietary supplement product he used for two days before returning it to the store when he realized that ostarine was listed on the label. Subsequent analysis conducted on both the open and independently sourced, unopened containers of the product by the WADA-accredited laboratory in Salt Lake City, Utah, indicated that the product also contained LGD-4033 and GW1516, which were not listed on the label.

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).

Gouti received a reduction from the otherwise applicable period of ineligibility due to his return of the supplement shortly after purchase and his substantial assistance. Gouti’s six-month period of ineligibility began on April 25, 2019, the date his provisional suspension was imposed.