Outside Source
Bassil Hafez won’t be able to fight until March 2027. | Getty/UFC
Bassil Hafez has been suspended for one year after failing an out-of-competition drug test earlier this year.
UFC anti-doping partner Combat Sports Anti-Doping announced the sanction on Wednesday. The welterweight fighter tested positive for ipamorelin, a prohibited peptide hormone, in a sample collected on March 20 in Las Vegas.
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“During CSAD’s investigation, Hafez provided full and complete cooperation as defined under the UFC ADP,” the statement read. “His cooperation included identifying and introducing CSAD to a wellness clinic he had used to obtain substances he believed were permitted for injury recovery purposes. Hafez has not competed since November 2024 due to injury and did not have a bout scheduled at the time the sample was collected.
“Evidence gathered during the investigation indicated that, although Hafez claimed he was unaware that a product provided to him by the wellness clinic contained ipamorelin, he acted with gross negligence by consuming the product without conducting adequate due diligence regarding its ingredients and their prohibited status.”
CSAD determined that Hafez did not use ipamorelin to gain an advantage in any scheduled competition. He will be able to return to UFC competition on March 20, 2027.
Lesson Learned
On Tuesday, Hafez announced that he had failed a drug test via social media.
“I took a supplement during my healing process that ended up containing a banned substance. I had provided the clinic with the banned substance list and made it clear that those ingredients were not allowed, but it still ended up being included in the mix,” Hafez wrote.
“At the end of the day, it falls on me for not double and triple checking before taking it. Being injured and sidelined from the sport I’ve spent the last 16 years training for has been incredibly rough, both mentally and physically. The could’ve, would’ve, should’ve won’t change anything now.
“I’ve been tested my entire career (17 times to be exact) and have never had a positive test or any issues before this. All I can say is that mistakes happen, and I’ll learn from this.”
Hafez made his Octagon debut in 2023, giving future welterweight champ Jack Della Maddalena a tough test before falling via split decision at UFC on ESPN 49. “The Habibi” has since earned a three-round verdict against Mickey Gall before suffering a knockout loss to Oban Elliott at UFC 309.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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