B.J. Penn admits IV use to USADA, pulled from UFC 199
On again, off again, B.J. Penn‘s long awaited return to the UFC and mixed martial arts will have to wait once again. The former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion was scheduled to fight Cole Miller in his return bout at UFC 199, however he has been pulled from the fight card after admitting IV use to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
BJ Penn made the following statement to BJPENN.COM regarding his admitted use of an IV to USADA:
“I voluntarily disclosed to USADA that during a non-fight period that I had an IV administered under the care of a doctor.
“The rule for IV usage had changed since my last fight in the UFC and was unaware of the change and voluntarily disclosed the information to USADA. I had no idea that IV use was banned 365 days a year.
“At no time in my career in martial arts have I ever doped and anticipate all test results from USADA will come back clean and will be working with the UFC to get the matter cleared up and return to fight as soon as possible.”
Penn was originally scheduled to fight Dennis Siver, but Siver pulled out due to injury, and Cole Miller stepped up. No word yet as to if Miller will remain on the card.
Prior to fighting for the UFC, he became the first American Gold medalist of the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship. In mixed martial arts, Penn has competed in the Featherweight, Lightweight, Welterweight, and Middleweight divisions. As a former UFC Lightweight Champion and UFC Welterweight Champion, he is the second of only five fighters in UFC history to win titles in multiple weight classes.
