UFC
Hector Lombard fined over $70K, suspended a year for drug test failure at UFC 182
Mar 23, 2015 - 6:30:56 PM Hector Lombard fined over $70K, suspended a year for drug test failure at UFC 182

DISCUSS ALL THIS IN OUR NEW MMATORCH FORUM

...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Hector Lombard was hit with a significant monetary fine and a one-year suspension from the Nevada Athletic Commission on Monday for his failed drug test at UFC 182 in January.

After hearing from the welterweight fighter, the commission fined him his full win bonus from the event, as well as 33% of his show money for a total of $70,490.

Lombard tested positive for desoxymethyltestosterone (DMT) following his win over Josh Burkman on the card, an anabolic steroid. He claimed during Monday's hearing with the commission that he had the flu during his weight cut and took pills from a Z-pak (azithromycin) immediately after the weigh-ins. Nevada deputy attorney general Christopher Eccles consulted with a physician who said it was possible for a Z-pak to cause a positive test for DMT. However, Lombard did not get the medication via a prescription, saying a friend gave the pills to him, and he also didn't disclose using anything on his pre-fight medical questionnaire.

Here's some of what Lombard had to say as he sought leniency from the commission (transcribed by MMAFighting.com):

"I cannot find the proper words to describe how I feel at the moment. I have let down the UFC, Dana White, Lorenzo [Fertitta], the fans, my family, my sponsors, and countless others. I also owe an apology to my opponent Josh Burkman. As an athlete, I owe my living to maintaining my body at peak physical condition. I trust those around me and within my inner circle to provide me with the proper guidance and wisdom to enable me to perform at my best. However I know that I am ultimately responsible for what I put into my body.

I have never knowingly put a prohibited substance into my body. That being said, just prior to my fight, I took a substance which I believe to have been acceptable to use. I relied on people I trusted to provide me with the correct information, and I take full responsibility for not getting more information about this product prior to my use.

I ask this commission to take into account that I have never failed any previous drug test in all my of fighting, including all my years as an Olympic athlete. I am truly embarrassed and sorry for my actions. This will never happen again. As an older fighter, I do not have many fights left in my career, and I hope that I can use this time to help younger fighters to become more educated about people they trust... If I would've known they were illegal, I wouldn't have taken it. It was so stupid on my behalf. I trusted in a person who I should not trust. I messed up."

Penick's Analysis: It's a massively harsh monetary punishment, though not at all surprising from this commission. While Lombard's story is at least somewhat believable, at best it was still him taking something that he wasn't personally prescribed, and that he didn't inform the commission about. At worst he's using that as an excuse that he thought might bring a lesser punishment. Either way the commission wasn't going to go light on him, right or not. At this point if a fighter is taking anything that could be considered legal the week of the fight, they should let the commission know about it, because that's the only way they can rightly combat a situation like this where it'd be a reasonable explanation for the failed test. Like here, if Lombard had been prescribed a Z-pak for some ailment and let the commission know, then the argument of that causing a test failure for DMT could have been made. In that situation, the commission would have known he'd taken something that could show up on a test, and he may have been cleared. That didn't happen, and he's lost a year of his career because of it.

[Hector Lombard photo (c) Henry Dziekan III]