Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight Irina Alekseeva was suspended for one year after testing positive for testosterone over a year ago.
The Combat Sports Anti-Doping Agency (CSAD) announced the sanctions in a statement on Friday, criticizing USADA, UFC’s former anti-doping partner.
Alekseeva tested positive for a substance abuse disorder consistent with the administration of exogenous testosterone in a urine sample collected by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) on June 21, 2023 while she was the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Program (UFC ADP). However, USADA did not report the results of this sample to her and UFC until October 31, 2023, more than four months after the sample was collected and after Alekseeva was cleared to compete in a UFC event in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 14, 2023. USADA collected two additional samples from Alekseeva prior to her October 14, 2023 bout (August 8, 2023 and September 13, 2023), both of which were negative. It should be noted that when CSAD assumed its role as independent administrator of the UFC ADP from USADA on December 31, 2023, it requested additional, more specific testing of the two samples that USADA did not conduct. The results of these additional tests conducted by CSAD were negative. Alekseeva was also tested by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) on October 14, 2023, the day of her final UFC fight, with a negative result. All three of these subsequent negative samples were taken from Alekseeva prior to notification of her positive sample on June 21, 2023.
While CSAD was not an independent administrator of the UFC ADP during the period described above, CSAD recognizes the importance of promptly reporting results from samples collected in the months or weeks prior to a UFC event, prior to the event. CSAD also recognizes that it would be unacceptable for a positive result to be reported more than four months after the sample was collected if the athlete was permitted to compete in a UFC bout during that time.
Alekseeva faced Melissa Mullins at UFC Fight Night 230, losing by unanimous decision in the aforementioned bout on October 14. CSAD decided to reduce Alekseeva’s suspension because USADA did not inform Alekseeva of her positive test result and because Alekseeva had provided three negative test results prior to the adverse results. According to the anti-doping agency, this supported its view that Alekseeva did not regularly use testosterone. Furthermore, Alekseeva and her team fully cooperated with the CSAD investigation.
The suspension is retroactive to Oct. 15, 2023, the day after Alekseeva faces Mullins at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, making her eligible to fight on Oct. 15 of this year. However, the Russian could face additional sanctions from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Known as “Russian Ronda,” Alexeyeva is 5-2 since beginning her professional MMA career in 2019, with one win under the Bellator MMA banner prior to signing with UFC. Alexeyeva defeated Stephanie Egger by first-round submission in her Octagon debut at UFC on ESPN 45, before losing to Mullins.
