Strikeforce
Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante tests positive for banned substance out of May Strikeforce win over Mike Kyle
Jun 15, 2012 - 9:30:49 PM

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Rafeal "Feijao" Cavalcante has been suspended by the California State Athletic Commission for one year and fined $2,500 after testing positive for a banned substance out of his bout with Mike Kyle last month.

According to a report from MMAFighting.com, the CSAC informed Cavalcante of his failed test in a letter this week, and Cavalcante's manager Ed Soares says they will fight the suspension. The exact substance he tested positive for is not yet known.

"I believe in his innocence, and we're fighting it," Soares said. "We stand behind him. There's a lot of stuff that doesn't make sense."

While the exact nature of the failed test isn't yet known, Cavalcante becomes the third Strikeforce fighter in the last seven months to fail a drug test in California, joining the man he defeated to take the title, Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal, and former Strikeforce Women's Featherweight Champion Cris Cyborg.

Cavalcante's first round win over Mike Kyle will likely be overturned to a "no contest" in the wake of the failed test.

Penick's Analysis: It's hard to make any judgments on the situation without knowledge of the substance he tested positive for. Regardless, he plans on fighting the suspension and this test result, so more will come out on it in the next several weeks. This all but kills Strikeforce's light heavyweight division, though, leaving pretty much Gegard Mousasi in the field right now. They may need to kill that division the way they did with the heavyweights at this point.