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UFC bantamweight Sean O'Malley.
UFC 229

O'Malley pulled from Khabib-McGregor undercard due to failed drug test

The undefeated bantamweight was scheduled to face Jose Quinonez in Las Vegas this weekend.

CONOR MCGREGOR’S RETURN to action will be the highlight of the card, but another eagerly-anticipated bout at UFC 229 will no longer be going ahead.

Undefeated bantamweight Sean O’Malley has taken to social media to announce that he won’t be fighting Jose Quinonez in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

O’Malley has been informed of a failed drug test by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, although the 23-year-old American insists that he did not intentionally use a prohibited substance.

O’Malley didn’t mention the substance in question, but he did claim that he has already identified a dietary supplement which may have caused the failed test.

While O’Malley is an advocate of marijuana use, that could not have been responsible in this instance. Under USADA rules, cannabis metabolites are only banned during the in-competition period, which doesn’t begin until 24 hours before a fight.

“I have no intention of cheating and am fully confident that the results of this case will show that,” O’Malley wrote on Instagram. “I love my fans and I hope the impact on my career is minimal and I’m back to fighting real soon.”

O’Malley will now be placed under an indefinite suspension while his case is investigated, which rules him out of this weekend’s T-Mobile Arena bill.

He opted to reveal the news despite a change to the UFC’s policy regarding drug tests. Instead of announcing doping violations immediately after results emerge, the organisation will now keep details private until cases are resolved and sanctions have been imposed.

“Even though, under the new policy, my case would not be public right now, I feel it’s important to be upfront and honest with my fans about why I’m not fighting next weekend,” he added.

O’Malley, who has so far accumulated a 10-0 professional record, has been tipped for a big future after impressing under the UFC banner since he was discovered last year on the Tuesday Night Contender Series run by UFC president Dana White.

After a spectacular first-round knockout of Alfred Khashakyan on the show, O’Malley went on to record unanimous-decision wins in the octagon at the expense of Terrion Ware and Andre Soukhamthath. 

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