Chad Mendes has spoken for the first time since Usada notified him of a potential anti-doping violation.
Last week the UFC released a statement in which they claimed that top featherweight fighter Chad Mendes had been flagged by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, the promotion’s anti-doping partner.
Mendes, who hasn’t fought since being knocked out by Frankie Edgar last December, hadn’t publicly spoken about the incident but that changed on Saturday when the two-time featherweight title challenger Chad Mendes tweeted about the potential violation.
The Team Alpha Male stand-out suggested that he hadn’t done his research, presumably on a supplement, and that he would take responsibility for that fact.
I didn't do my homework and that was a big mistake. I own it and I'm going to pay for it.
— chad mendes (@chadmendes) June 18, 2016
The apparent confirmation of the violation means that Mendes is the first high-profile fighter from squeaky clean Team Alpha Male to be popped by Usada.
It is still not clear just what the substance which caused Mendes to fail the test was, and as such we can’t really say how long a suspension – if any – Mendes can expect to face.
But as UFC move towards a lucrative takeover, you have to imagine that they will be coming down pretty hard on any violators in an attempt to legitimise the sport of MMA in the eyes of the mainstream.
