7 Major Questions Surrounding Brock Lesnar’s Potential USADA Violation

Just last month, we were told of the scarcely believable news that one of the WWE’s most premier talents had been flagged for the use of a banned substance.

And this past week, amazingly we find ourselves in the same situation—except this time the violation was spotted by a completely separate organisation. That’s because it afflicted cross-promotional extraordinaire and occasional UFC heavyweight Brock Lesnar, who has been informed of a potential USADA violation—that’s the United States Anti-Doping Agency—during the build-up to his recent UFC 200 fight.

Lesnar has in fact been subjected to multiple drugs tests since he announced his return to the UFC; USADA’s website citing eight such instances. But it was the particular sample taken from a June 28th test that has landed Lesnar in hot water.

So what exactly does this mean for Lesnar, for the UFC, and the WWE? Obviously there are going to be huge ramifications for everybody involved, but with plenty of questions still to be answered, let’s try and tackle a few today.

The short answer here is that right now; we just don’t know.

USADA policy prevents them from actually releasing information on the substance “until the athlete either goes public or the adjudication process afforded to the fighter is finalized”.

What we do know, however, is that a substance qualifies for the USADA prohibited list if it meets any two of the following criteria; it has the potential to enhance or enhances sport performance, it represents an actual or potential health risk to the athlete, or it violates the spirit of sport. Then again, that doesn’t really narrow things down too much…

Naturally, rumours are beginning to surface as to what might have caused the potential violation; one story citing a pesky asthma inhaler as a possible culprit.

But who knows if that will prove to be the case. At the moment it’s all just speculation and suppositions. For a more concrete answer, we’ll have to wait until that adjudication process is completed.