California State Athletic Commission has suspended Usman Nurmagomedov for six months after he tested positive for a banned substance following his fight against Brent Primus at Bellator 300. Usman Nurmagomedov vs Brent Primus is now ruled a No Contest, confirms CSAC Executive Andy Foster.
It remains unclear whether Bellator will strip their current lightweight champion, who had a prescription for the banned substance but failed to apply for TUE or Therapeutic Use Exemption. The CSAC has not commented anything on the banned substance.
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Nurmagomedov’s last opponent, Brent Primus, shared his thoughts on the news, and as reported by Ariel Helwani, here’s what he had to say.
“Today I was informed by Andy Foster that my opponent from Bellator 300 Usman Nurmagomedov tested positive for a banned substance and the fight is now ruled a No Contest. I’d like to thank CSAC and Bellator for working together to promote a clean sport. I’m in the gym training hard and will be ready to get back into the Grand Prix.” He said.
At the time of writing, it remains unclear whether Bellator will strip Nurmagomedov of his title gold. Needless to say, it puts Bellator in a very peculiar situation.
Bellator lightweight World Grand Prix tournament in jeopardy after Usman Nurmagomedov’s suspension
Brent Primus, who suffered a unanimous decision loss against Usman Nurmagomedov at Bellator 300, could see an automatic qualification to the finals of the Bellator lightweight world grand prix tournament after Nurmagomedov‘s suspension.
Bellator 301, which will feature the second semi-final of the tournament featuring Alexandr Shabliy and Patricky Pitbull, goes down next weekend on November 17 in Chicago, Illinois.
As for Usman Nurmagomedov, this is a huge setback for the Dagestani fighter, who had gained massive popularity in recent times for his impressive striking and dominant grappling.
With wins over the likes of Benson Henderson and Patricky Pitbull, Usman was already on his way to being the next big star in Bellator. Moreoever, under the tutelage of UFC great Khabib Nurmagomedov, the 25-year-old Dagestani fighter had everything going in his favor. However, a positive test for a banned substance could certainly tarnish that image.