Report: UFC clears Casey of doping allegations, Texas sanctions still in place

The UFC determined that strawweight Cortney Casey isn't in violation of the USADA testing program after being flagged for elevated testosterone-to-epitestosterone levels in May, UFC vice president of athlete health and performance Jeff Novitzky told Marc Raimondi of MMA Fighting.

Casey's win over Jessica Aguilar at UFC 211 was changed to a no-contest and she was suspended for three months by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. It's unclear whether they plan to remove either of those penalties.

"At this point the Casey case is still under review," said TDLR spokesperson Susan Stanford.

Novitzky wasn't impressed with the TDLR's handling of the situation, accusing them of being overzealous with sharing Casey's records and handing out punishment before her samples underwent USADA testing. According to Raimondi's report, Casey's elevated ratio could have been a result of her having low epitestosterone levels as opposed to high testosterone levels produced by a banned substance.

"Her slightly elevated T:E ratio was just a product of her natural physiology and not anything she did wrong," Novitzky said. "She didn't cheat. A T:E ratio, in and of itself - especially mildly high - is never grounds for a public announcement of a positive test."

Casey's sample came back negative after it was sent to a lab in Salt Lake City for isotope-ratio mass spectrometry testing, a procedure that can more accurately determine if an athlete is trying to cheat the system.

As a UFC athlete, Casey has been subject to the company's drug testing protocol since joining in July 2015. She considers the verdict to be a bittersweet victory.

"Even now with the result in my favor, people will just say I found a loophole," Casey told Raimondi. "I will always be considered a cheater in some people's eyes. If you look at the science, there is no loophole to it. It sucks. It just sucks."