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B.J. Penn suspended, out of UFC bout

Billy Hull
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STAR-ADVERTISER / AUG. 2012

B.J. Penn, 37, was attempting to return from a 23-month hiatus to fight Cole Miller in a 145-pound bout that would have served as the main event of the preliminary bouts for UFC 199telecast on Fox Sports 1.

Hilo’s B.J. Penn will not fight at UFC 199 on June 4 in Los Angeles after receiving a suspension for disclosing the use of an IV that is prohibited by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

The UFC said in a statement Monday, “The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) informed B.J. Penn of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation. Penn disclosed the usage of a prohibited method — the use of an IV in excess of 50 ML in a six-hour period — during a March 25, 2016, out-of-competition sample collection. In accordance with the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, Penn has received a provisional suspension, and has been removed from his scheduled bout against Cole Miller on June 4 in Los Angeles.”

Penn responded with a statement of his own saying, “I voluntarily disclosed to USADA that during a non-fight period that I had an IV administered under the care of a doctor. The rule for IV usage had changed since my last fight in the UFC and (I) was unaware of the change and voluntarily disclosed the information to USADA. I had no idea that IV use was banned 365 days a year.

“At no time in my career in martial arts have I ever doped and anticipate all test results from USADA will come back clean and will be working with the UFC to get the matter cleared up and return to fight as soon as possible.”

Penn, 37, was attempting to return from a 23-month hiatus to fight Cole Miller in a 145-pound bout that would have served as the main event of the preliminary bouts for UFC 199 telecast on Fox Sports 1.

The UFC said in its statement they will attempt to find a replacement opponent for Miller (21-9, 10-7 UFC).

Waianae’s Max Holloway will fight Ricardo Lamas on the main card of the UFC 199 pay-per-view broadcast.

12 responses to “B.J. Penn suspended, out of UFC bout”

  1. allie says:

    sounds like an innocent mistake

  2. Bdpapa says:

    Good, mature statement.

  3. lespark says:

    Maybe it’s time to hang it up.

  4. Mr Mililani says:

    I believe the guy. Sounds like he made an honest error.

  5. samidunn says:

    Retire already

  6. cholo says:

    big bummers. cholo was waiting for the bj comeback!

  7. BuhByeAloha says:

    Trash talker, poor sport, bad role model, and now a cheat. You can almost get away with all that when you’re young and winning most of your fights. But when you are old and washed up, you don’t get much sympathy.

  8. btaim says:

    Why do you need any help from drugs at all? Why not win with practiced technique, very hard training, focus, clarity of mind and a persevering mindset?

  9. MoiLee says:

    Eh Ben Retire already!
    After his last fight? I really don’t want hear him crying about what his opponent did to his face….. I felt so embarrassed for BJ.

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