USADA suspends Rodriguez 6 months for whereabouts violation
Yair Rodriguez has received a six-month suspension due to a whereabouts violation, USADA announced Thursday.
The featherweight contender did not update information on his whereabouts or was unavailable for testing three times in 2020, according to the UFC anti-doping partner. Three failures in a 12-month span result in a violation under the UFC anti-doping program.
"Accurate whereabouts information is a crucial component of an effective out-of-competition testing program because it enables anti-doping organizations to conduct no-notice sample collections, which helps maintain effective doping deterrence and detection," a statement read.
Rodriguez's six-month suspension is retroactive to Sept. 8, the date of his third whereabouts failure. The Mexican native will be eligible to return to the Octagon on March 8.
The sanction was reduced because Rodriguez's conduct "did not raise suspicion that he was trying to avoid being available for testing," according to USADA. The fighter also received a reduction because of his "full and complete cooperation."
Rodriguez is ranked No. 4 in the UFC's featherweight division and hasn't fought since a win over Jeremy Stephens in October 2019.
The UFC scheduled the 28-year-old to face Zabit Magomedsharipov in a highly anticipated clash in August but he withdrew due to an injury.