Professional Fighters League lightweight Alexandr
Shabliy has accepted a six-month suspension for a failed drug
test, USADA announced on Wednesday.
Shabliy tested positive recombinant erythropoietin (rEPO) in an
out-of-competition sample collected on March 19. EPO is a synthetic
hormone that increases the body’s production of red blood cells,
which as a result improves oxygen transport and aerobic power. It’s
the same substance that former UFC champion T.J.
Dillashaw tested positive for in 2019, which resulted in him
serving a two-year suspension.
Shabliy’s suspension is retroactive to the date of his positive
test, so he will be eligible to return to action on Sept. 19. The
32-year-old Russian was slated to face Brent
Primus in the opening round of the PFL lightweight tournament
before the failed drug test.
Shabliy’s last appearance came at Bellator Champions Series San
Diego, where he dropped a five-round verdict against Usman
Nurmagomedov in a lightweight title tilt. That snapped a
nine-bout winning streak for “Peresvet,” who owns victories over
the likes of Patricky
Freire, Tofiq
Musayev, Primus and Adriano
Martins.