UFC welterweight Tim Means will be able to return to the octagon later this year as he has accepted a six month suspension for his anti-doping violation from earlier this year.
The settlement was announced by USADA on Friday and the complete statement from USADA on the settlement is below.
USADA announced today that UFC athlete, Tim Means, of Edgewood, N.M., has accepted a 6-month sanction for an anti-doping policy violation after testing positive for a prohibited substance from a contaminated supplement.
Means, 32, tested positive for Ostarine following an out-of-competition test conducted on January 21, 2016. Ostarine is a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) and a prohibited substance under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, which has adopted the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List.
Following notification of his positive test, Means provided USADA with a sealed container of one of the dietary supplement products he was using at the time of the relevant sample collection. Although no prohibited substances were listed on the supplement label, testing conducted on the product by the WADA-accredited laboratory in Salt Lake City, Utah, indicated that it contained Ostarine. The presence of an undisclosed prohibited substance in a product is regarded as contamination. Accordingly, the product has since been added to the list of high risk supplements maintained on USADA’s online dietary supplement safety education and awareness resource – Supplement 411 (www.supplement411.org).
Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, as well as the World Anti-Doping Code, the determination that an athlete’s positive test was caused by a contaminated product may result in a reduced sanction. The sanction for a doping offense resulting from the use of a contaminated product ranges from a reprimand and no period of ineligibility, at a minimum, to a two-year period of ineligibility, at a maximum.
Means’ six-month period of ineligibility began on February 3, 2016, the date on which he was provisionally suspended from competition. In addition, Means has been disqualified from all competitive results obtained on and subsequent to January 21, 2016, the date of sample collection, including forfeiture of any title, ranking, purse or other compensation.
USADA conducts the year-round, independent anti-doping program for all UFC athletes. USADA is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental agency whose sole mission is to preserve the integrity of competition, inspire true sport, and protect the rights of clean athletes. In an effort to aid UFC athletes, as well as their support team members, in understanding the rules applicable to them, USADA provides comprehensive instruction on the UFC Anti-Doping Program website (www.ufc.usada.org) regarding the testing process and prohibited 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 (www.ufc.globaldro.com), conducts educational sessions, and proactively distributes a multitude of educational materials, such as the Prohibited List, easy-reference wallet cards, and periodic athlete alerts.
Means (25-7-1) has won five of his seven fights since coming back to the UFC and his last fight came in December of last year. On that night, he defeated John Howard by knockout in the second round and his last three wins have come by stoppage.