Cortney Casey has won three of her last four UFC fights, but it was a controversy earlier this year that defined her 2017.
After defeating Jessica Aguilar at UFC 211 in May, the oft-mistaken Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation suspended Casey after an in-competition sample provided by Casey was found to have an elevated testosterone to epi-testosterone (t:e) ratio. Casey received a letter months after the controversy from the TDLR that has stated that her ninety day suspension had been rescinded and her no contest against Jessica Aguilar at UFC 211 has been reverted back to a win after a "b" sample was examined.
When speaking to Fightful's James Lynch, Casey remembered the headache of a situation.
"It sucked. I can't really explain it other than that. It was terrible. It took them forever to right the wrong. Something that should have never happened to begin with happened. I kind of just laid low and let everyone say what they wanted to say because I didn't want to add fuel to the fire. I was waiting on a test that I already knew the answer to. By the time we got it, it was everywhere. Then it took forever for them to get the test back. Then they sent me this nonchalant letter. I was like 'where were the steps taken beforehand?' I had to prove my innocence.. I don't think it will ever go away because it's out there. It's just something I'm going to have to deal with," said Casey.
Despite the difficulty with the TDLR, Casey specified that the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) was a big help.
"USADA was 100 percent behind me. They did everything they could to help me. They released all my passports to Texas. They reiterated the rules. I never tested positive for anything. That's where they went wrong telling the news outlets that I tested positive. I had an elevated t:e ratio, which doesn't mean I'm on anything. You have to run the isotope ratio test to find that elevation," said Casey.
In the full interview, Cortney Casey (7-4) discusses her upcoming fight against Felice Herrig (13-6) at UFC 218 on Dec. 2. Cortney also talks about the fiasco involving the Texas State Commission, training at The MMA Lab for this fight and what she's watching on Netflix.
