Repeat doping: Why was unbeaten UFC contender Rakhmonov disqualified?

The 35-year-old Russian light heavyweight (14-0), currently ranked 12th in his division, has been disqualified following a failed doping test. A correspondent reports on the reasons behind the suspension of one of the "pursuers" (19-0).

In mid-November, the fighter from Kabardino-Balkaria (Russia) withdrew from a fight against a 32-year-old (30-9), ranked eighth. Details were scarce, but it was known that the incident stemmed from the actions of the four-time world champion in hand-to-hand combat and former league champion Murzakanov. Thus, the powerful finisher (10 knockouts in 14 fights) lost the chance to compete against a higher-ranked opponent.

It has only recently come to light that he failed a test conducted by the anti-doping organization in October.

"Azamat Murzakanov has received a 180-day suspension, effective until May 1, 2025, for violating UFC's anti-doping policy. Azamat's test returned a positive result for a low-level presence of a metabolite.

Recall that in September 2017, USADA also detected banned substances in Murzakanov's sample. At that time, the fighter requested an additional examination to determine how the substance entered his system, but to no avail - his disqualification ended on September 2, 2019," the Telegram channel reported.

Murzakanov's suspension commenced on November 1, 2024. There are indications that fighters should typically face a 90-day ban for such violations, but due to Azamat's previous issues (a two-year suspension from 2017 to 2019), his suspension was extended to twice that duration.

Online, one can find information about the substance that was detected in his tests. It is known to be used for gaining muscle mass and positively impacts the athlete's endurance. The banned substance entered the undefeated fighter's system due to a contaminated dietary supplement, a fact that has been confirmed by specialists. Without this clarification, it is likely that Azamat would have faced a much longer disqualification.

It is worth noting that Murzakanov is one of the so-called pursuers of Kazakhstan's Rakhmonov in the list of undefeated UFC fighters. Shavkat leads this ranking with a record of 19-0, alongside (19-0). Murzakanov, with 14-0, holds the tenth position in the classification.

Azamat last fought in August of this year, where he knocked out American (15-5-1) in the second round.