Sean O’Malley might be the best bantamweight fighter there is in the UFC promotion. However, he too is not exempted from troubles with the dr*g association. Even Suga was suspended for a case in 2018 and 2019, which was complicated and took some time to be solved. Even Conor McGregor did not spare him after the case got over and took jibes at him while the Ryan Garcia PED case was being hyped.

Suga had been suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission because of a PED usage crisis. What was the drug substance? How did it get into his system? Let’s journey into the past and see what happened.

When Sean O’Malley failed his first drug test

O’Malley was suspended due to traces of the prohibited Ostarine being found in his system and the bantamweight had announced it himself to his fans. He was scheduled to fight Marlon Vera at UFC 239 in Las Vegas and it was supposed to be his return fight after being suspended for 6 months by the NSAC for testing positive for the same substance. Now what is Ostarine? It is a selective androgen receptor module and in short; it stands for SARM. This was primarily developed to treat diseases such as osteoporosis. Yet, if taken in a particular dosage, it can have an effect like anabolic steroids.  

He did not hide anything and revealed the case about his suspension and that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, the UFC’s anti-doping partner, would not be sanctioning him because the traces were still in his system. He admitted that he had not taken any dr*gs, and it was a protein supplement. 

However, USADA director of communications Adam Woullard confirmed that he was not going to face any violation. He was even tested on the same before UFC 229 and tested positive. It seems like the Ostarine does not leave him alone sadly.

 Sean O’Malley gets suspended for Ostarine

Before UFC 299, there were traces of Ostarine found in Suga’s system and he was suspended for 6 months by the NSAC. However, the two-year ban was reduced for him and made into 6 months. UFC Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitzky told ESPN that Suga had tested positive for traces of Ostarine. However, the fighter had two other tests the same year which were reported as negative.

“I feel very bad for Sean,“ Novitzky declared. “I feel very bad for all his fans who were looking forward to watching him fight in Las Vegas. But there is a part of me, there is a part of the UFC that, in the long run, likes what Nevada is doing, because once again everybody is gonna get that chance in a very public forum to hear those experts talk about this substance, to talk about anti-doping now that you’re able to detect at such low levels.”

Since the amount of Ostarine was very low, it was not enough to have effects like an anabolic steroid. Novitzky even said, “Had [Sean O’Malley] been a Major League Baseball player, this would not have been reported out as a positive test.”

Even O’Malley was adamant that he had not taken any prohibited drugs intentionally and had identified a dietary supplement that had caused the main mixup. He even uploaded on Instagram, “I have no intention and am fully confident that the results of this case will show that,” O’Malley wrote. “I love my fans and I hope the impact on my career is minimal and I’m back to fighting real soon,” he added.

When Sean O’Malley finally accepted suspension from the UFC

Let’s go back to the case that happened before UFC 239. He was pulled from this event because of a dr*g test that came positive. It was a pair of them where the bantamweight had competed in 2018 previously. After that, he was supposed to compete at UFC 239 but the suspension came in between. Yet, as per Suga’s statements, the traces detected were not believed to be evidence of a new consumption.

It appeared as an original consumption so USADA did not sanction the fighter as he had served his suspension for the previous original consumption. Finally, after a lot of back and forth, Suga accepted the 6-month suspension from USADA and his next fight was against Jose Quinonez at UFC 248 on March 7. He commented on the ban as well in 2019 and withdrew from UFC 239.

So, all in all, he has been suspended before UFC 229, UFC 239, and UFC 299 all for the same substance: Ostarine. Sadly, he did not just face suspension but also a backlash from his favorite fighter, Conor McGregor. McGregor took a jibe when Ryan Garcia was also suspended and he dragged O’Malley into the mess.

Nevertheless, these things are in the past now and Suga is fighting at the grand UFC 306. Will he be able to keep his belt to himself?