NSAC: Ashlee Evans-Smith positive for diuretic, manager says complaint sent to wrong address

Ashlee Evans-Smith

UFC women’s bantamweight Ashlee Evans-Smith tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide, a water pill that prevents the body from retaining salt and aids in weight-cutting, according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

On Thursday, the NSAC confirmed to MMAjunkie the banned substance they allege Evans-Smith (3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) tested positive for in the wake of her UFC 181 appearance opposite Raquel Pennington (5-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC), who choked her unconscious with a bulldog choke on the event’s preliminary card.

However, according to Evans-Smith’s manager, the commission sent a complaint notifying the fighter of the alleged violation to the wrong address, using her licensing paperwork from a previous fight in Las Vegas.

An NSAC rep on Thursday said the commission sent the complaint on Jan. 2 via regular and certified mail. When informed the fighter hadn’t received it, she said, “Well, we used the address she put on her application.”

Mike McLeish said Friday that he and Evans-Smith still haven’t received a copy of the complaint. He said he informed an NSAC staffer of the address mixup and was informed the commission was using her licensing paperwork from WSOF 10, which took place this past June in Las Vegas.

When he asked why he hadn’t been notified about the complaint prior to its inclusion on a public agenda requesting Evans-Smith’s temporary suspension, he said he was told, “We don’t have to call as long as they send it via certified mail.”

An email to the NSAC requesting comment on McLeish’s statements wasn’t immediately returned. NSAC Executive Director Bob Bennett on Thursday told MMAjunkie that all questions toward him should be sent via email “so we don’t have a miscommunication.”

Evans-Smith was expected to appear before the NSAC during a meeting next Monday in Las Vegas, but McLeish said he requested she phone into the meeting as she is returning from a training seminar on Jan. 11, one day prior to the Jan. 12 meeting.

McLeish said Wednesday that he was first notified of the NSAC’s complaint by UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby, who Evans-Smith faced a six-month suspension and needed to assemble a list of supplements to present to the commission, which would be calling him shortly.

NSAC statutes say if a complaint is filed by the executive director against a licensee, the commission is required to serve a copy of the complaint via certified mail. The licensee then has 20 days to respond to the complaint, admitting or denying the alleged rule violation.

For complete coverage of UFC 181, check out the UFC Events section of the site.