Michel Prazeres has been handed a four-year suspension by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and has subsequently retired as a result.
USADA announced Thursday that Prazeres was handed the suspension after testing positive for multiple prohibited substances. It was his second violation of the UFC Anti-Doping policy which resulted in the lengthy suspension.
“Prazeres, 40, tested positive for clomiphene and its metabolites (desethyl-clomiphene, clomiphene M1, and clomiphene M2), oxandrolone metabolites, and the exogenous administration of testosterone and/or its precursors as the result of urine samples collected out-of-competition on August 27, 2021, September 16, 2021, October 15, 2021, and November 2, 2021.”
USADA went on to add that Prazeres’ urine sample was analyzed with a specialized test to detect the banned substances.
“Prazeres’ urine sample was analyzed using a specialized test, known as Carbon Isotope Ratio (CIR) testing, that differentiates between anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) naturally produced by the body and prohibited anabolic agents of external origin. The CIR test confirmed the presence of testosterone and/or its precursors of external origin in Prazeres’ urine sample. Anabolic agents have powerful performance-enhancing capabilities and can give an athlete an unfair advantage over fellow competitors.”
Michel Prazeres Reportedly Retires Following Suspension
The four-year suspension for the UFC lightweight and welterweight is retrodated to his first test on August 27, 2021. That means he would only be able to compete on August 27, 2025.
As a result, the Brazilian has retired from the sport as per MMA Fighting.
Prazeres — who goes by the name of “Tractor” — has been with the UFC since 2013. Over that period of time, the 40-year-old went 10-4 with the promotion including an eight-fight winning streak from 2015 to 2018.
He holds notable wins over Gilbert Burns, Mads Burnell and Mairbek Taisumov. However, his last two appearances saw him suffer defeat to Ismail Naurdiev and Shavkat Rakhmonov respectively.
His defeat to Rakhmonov came in June in what will now be his final UFC appearance.
