Diego Brandao tests positive for marijuana metabolites after UFC 195 loss

Diego Brandao looked to be on his way to a win over Brian Ortega before a third-round mistake landed him in a fight-ending triangle choke.

That wasn’t the only issue for Brandao (20-11 MMA, 6-4 UFC) at the event, however, as the UFC today announced that the featherweight failed a post-fight drug test. The announcement was made on the UFC’s official website and cites the presence of  Carboxy-Tetrahydrocannabinol as the reason for the failure.

“The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) informed Diego Brandao of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation involving Carboxy-Tetrahydrocannabinol (“Carboxy-THC”) which is a metabolite of marijuana and/or hashish, above the decision limit of 180 ng/mL, stemming from an in-competition sample collected following his fight on January 2, 2016 in Las Vegas,” the statement read.

The loss to Ortega brought a halt to Brandao’s two-fight winning streak. That streak was a strong rebound for Brandao, who had lost back-to-back fights to Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor by knockout.

“USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Brandao, as it relates to the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and future UFC participation,” the statement continued. “Because the Nevada State Athletic Commission was the regulatory body overseeing the fight in Las Vegas and has state licensing and jurisdiction over Brandao, USADA will work to ensure that the Commission has the necessary information to determine its proper judgment of Brandao’s potential anti-doping violation. Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.”

For complete coverage of UFC 195, check out the UFC Events section of the site.