UFC on Fox 19 is now without another high profile fight.
Lyoto Machida vs. Dan Henderson is officially off after Machida admitted to the usage of a banned substance in an out-of-competition USADA drug test.
The former UFC light heavyweight champion claimed that prior to the test, he was not aware that the unnamed substance was banned under USADA regulations.
A statement from the UFC reads: “The UFC organization was made aware today by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, that Lyoto Machida declared the usage of a banned substance during an out-of-competition sample collection last week.
“Machida stated that he was unaware that the substance was prohibited both in and out of competition and, in accordance with the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, his disclosure of usage will be taken into consideration by USADA during any potential results management and adjudication process.”
Machida was slated for a middleweight match-up with Dan Henderson on Saturday night, a rematch of their 205 lb clash which took place at UFC 157 and resulted in a split decision victory for the Brazilian.
P.O.S. -No respect https://t.co/03O5oM7sM9
— Dan Henderson (@danhendo) April 13, 2016
Henderson, who is on the last fight of his UFC contract, made no secret about what he made of the revelations before Tim Kennedy, a vocal anti-doping advocate, offered to step in to fight Hendo but that’s being not considered by the UFC.
I will fly and fight @danhendo right now. My mouth piece is in my pocket. I don't need anything else.
— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) April 14, 2016
The main card re-jig now sees the women’s strawweight bout between Rose Namajunas and Tecia Torres move to co-main event status while a featherweight meeting between Cub Swanson and Hacran Dias returns to the main card.
