USADA announced today that Isabela de Padua, of Sao Paulo, Brazil, has accepted a two-year sanction for a violation of the UFC® anti-doping policy after being tested positive for a prohibited substance.
De Padua, 28, tested positive for 19-norandrosterone (19-NA), the major urinary metabolite of nandrolone (19-nortestosterone) and other 19-norsteroids following a competitive test on November 16 2019 when she lost by unanimous decision and an out-of-competition urine test performed on December 19, 2019. In accordance with standard practice, the exogenous or unnatural origin of 19-NA was confirmed by sophisticated mass spectrometry isotopic carbon (GC / C / IRMS), which may reveal the presence of anabolic agents. In this case, the result of the GC / C / IRMS analysis was consistent with the exogenous origin of 19-NA. 19-Norsteroids, including nandrolone and its precursors, are substances not specified in the class of anabolic agents and prohibited at all times under the UFC anti-doping policy and the UFC prohibited list.
After being added to the UFC anti-doping program, athletes must declare all drugs and supplements they have used in the past 12 months. An athlete who declares the prior use of a prohibited substance will not be deemed to have committed an offense but, depending on the substance, may be required to abstain from competition for a period of at least six months and to provide at least two negative samples. De Padua did not report the use of nandrolone or 19 norsteroids on its integration reporting forms.
De Padua’s two-year suspension began on November 16, 2019, when his first positive sample was taken. As a regulatory body that sanctioned the Padua fight on November 16, 2019, the Comissao Atletica Brasileira of MMA (CABMMA) recognized the sanction of the USADA subject to additional fines that it could impose in accordance with the policy CABMMA anti-doping.
USADA runs an independent anti-doping program throughout the year for all UFC athletes. USADA is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental agency whose sole mission is to preserve the integrity of competition, inspire real sport and protect the rights of clean athletes. To help UFC athletes and their support team members understand the rules that apply to them, USADA provides full instructions on the UFC anti-doping program website (https : //UFC.USADA.org) concerning the tests. prohibited processes and substances, how to obtain permission to use a necessary medication, and the risks and dangers of taking supplements, as well as performance-enhancing and recreational drugs.
In addition, the agency manages a drug reference hotline, Drug Reference Online (https://UFC.GlobalDRO.com), organizes training sessions and proactively distributes a multitude of educational materials, such as the List bans, easy-to-read wallet cards. and periodic athlete alerts. Many resources available to athletes are provided in multiple languages, including Russian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Korean, and Japanese.
In addition to education and testing, strong anti-doping programs allow investigation of tips and whistleblowers. The USADA provides a number of means to report the abuse of performance-enhancing drugs in sport to protect clean athletes and promote clean competition. Any tip can be reported using the USADA Play Clean Tip Center, by email at [email protected], by phone at 1 877-Play Clean (1-877-752-9253), or by mail.