UFC's Azamat Murzakanov accepts six-month suspension for anti-doping violation

Azamat Murzakanov has accepted a six-month suspension for violating the UFC’s anti-doping program, despite proof there was no performance-enhancing element to his situation.

Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) announced Monday through the UFC that Murzakanov (14-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) tested positive for a banned substance prior to his scheduled fight with Nikita Krylov at UFC 308. Upon further investigation, it was discovered Murzakanov had ingested the substance through a tainted supplement.

Although follow-up testing showed the substance no longer was present in his system, Murzakanov still was issued a 180-day suspension from CSAD and is ineligible to compete until May 1.

Check out the complete statement with details of the process involving Murzakanov’s case below:

Murzakanov tested positive for the low-level presence of a metabolite of LGD 4033, a prohibited at all times substance in the class of anabolic agents on the UFC Prohibited List, from an out of competition sample collected from him on October 8, 2024. A sealed bottle of a purported dietary supplement that Murzakanov used leading up to this sample provision was procured and sent to the UFC ADP’s testing laboratory, Sports Medicine and Research Testing Laboratory (SMRTL), in Salt Lake City, Utah, for analysis. The analysis found a low-level presence of LGD-4033 in the sealed supplement, despite not being listed on its labeled ingredients. SMRTL advised CSAD that the low level of LGD-4033 contaminant in the sealed supplement, as well as the low level of LGD-4033 metabolite in Murzakanov’s sample, would not provide any significant performance advantage. Additionally, a follow up sample that was collected from Murzakanov on October 31, 2024, before he was notified of the adverse October 8, 2024 sample, was negative. This supported Murzakanov’s timeline about when he took and discontinued taking the contaminated supplement in question.

CSAD determined that an appropriate sanction for Murzakanov adverse finding is a 90-day period of ineligibility. Despite the source of the adverse finding coming from a dietary supplement that listed no prohibited substances on its label, the supplement was not 3rd party tested and certified like all UFC athletes are educated to exclusively use. Because Murzakanov served a previous suspension under the UFC-ADP in 2019, this was Murzakanov’s second violation under the program and his sanction was therefore doubled to 180-days. Murzakanov’s suspension began on November 1, 2024, the day he was notified of this adverse finding in writing by CSAD and placed on a provisional suspension. Murzakanov’s suspension will expire 180-days later, on May 1, 2025.

Murzakanov, 35, has yet to be beaten in his MMA career. He has defeated Alonzo Menifield, Dustin Jacoby, Devin Clark and Tafon Nczhukwi during his UFC tenure, but hasn’t competed since August.

Now the Russian is facing potentially close to a year between fights by the time his suspension expires and he is booked again.