Former UFC welterweight Michel Prazeres has accepted a four-year suspension following a failed out-of-competition drug test.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, the UFC’s anti-doping partner, announced Prazeres’ sanction Thursday, which stems from four different urine samples that all tested positive for the banned substances clomiphene, oxandrolone, and the exogenous administration of testosterone.
The violation comes in the midst of a previous two-year suspension for exogenous boldenone, which USADA issued to him in February 2020.
“Anabolic agents have powerful performance-enhancing capabilities and can give an athlete an unfair advantage over fellow competitors,” USADA officials stated in a press release.
The tests were collected Aug. 27, Sept. 16, Oct. 15, and Nov. 2, 2021. Prazeres will be eligible to compete again on Aug. 27, 2025, four years from the date of the initial positive sample.
Prazeres, 40, parted ways with the UFC in early December. Shortly thereafter, he told MMA Fighting that he asked for his UFC release.
“I asked to released,” Prazeres said. “I’ll focus on the business I have in Belem, and who knows, maybe I’ll come back to fighting in the future. I’ll focus on jiu-jitsu and relax.”
Prazeres (20-6) exits the UFC with a 10-4 record in the promotion. During his eight-and-a-half-year tenure with the promotion, Prazeres competed against the likes of Kevin Lee, Mairbek Taisumov and Gilbert Burns among others.
