Heavyweight division fighter Carlos Felipe has been notified of a potential violation by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and he has been pulled from his UFC debut against Christian Colombo at UFC Fight Night Sao Paulo.
Felipe failed an out of competition test that was taken on July 29, the substance the fighter failed for has yet to be announced.
Now that he is out of UFC Fight Night Sao Paulo, the promotion is seeking a replacement fighter to take on Colombo.
The UFC issued the following statement on the matter:
The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Carlos Felipe of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collected on July 29, 2017. Because of the proximity to Felipe’s upcoming scheduled bout in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on October 28, 2017, against Christian Columbo, Felipe has been removed from the card and UFC is currently seeking a replacement.
USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Felipe. Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full and fair legal process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed. Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.
Upon receiving word of a potential USADA violation, the fighter released a statement himself through Instagram:
Here is the English translation of what Felipe wrote, which was translated via Google Translate:
I come through this, to communicate my departure from the ufc são paulo, on October 28. I was informed of a potential violation in the anti-dopping test ... I am fully aware that I have not used any substance prohibited by the USADA Since I signed with the UFC! nor caffeine in capsule I started to take more! I will be awaiting the USADA trial ... through this I apologize to all those who were looking forward to this fight.
UFC Fight Night Sao Paulo takes place on Saturday, October 28 from the Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil with Lyoto Machida and Derek Brunson headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on Fox Sports 1.