Ion Cutelaba flagged for possible USADA violation, removed from UFC 217

UFC 217 has lost a fight.

The bout between light heavyweights Ion Cutelaba and Michael Oleksiejczuk has been scrapped after Cutelaba was flagged by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for a potential violation.

Below is the statement from the UFC:

The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Ion Cutelaba of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from its investigation into voluntary disclosures by Cutelaba during an out-of-competition sample collections on October 18 and October 19, 2017. USADA has provisionally suspended Cutelaba and his fight against Michal Oleksiejczuk has been cancelled from the November 4, 2017, UFC 217 fight card.

USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Cutelaba. Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full and fair legal process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed. Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.

Cutelaba vs. Oleksiejczuk had been set for the early prelims on UFC Fight Pass that precede the FS1 prelims and pay-per-view main card at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Cutelaba (13-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and Oleksiejczuk (12-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) both made weight at this morning’s official weigh-ins without issue, coming in at 205.6 and 205.2 pounds, respectively.

The 23-year-old Cutelaba is 2-2 in four UFC appearances since June of 2016. He was in search of his first winning streak with the promotion after most recently knocking out Henrique da Silva in 22 seconds at UFC Fight Night 110 this past June.

Oleksiejczuk was looking to make his UFC debut.

For more on UFC 217, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.