Anti-Doping
Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) announced today that Irina Alekseeva of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, has accepted a 12-month sanction for a violation of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy.
Alekseeva tested positive for values consistent with the administration of testosterone of exogenous origin in a urine sample collected by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) on June 21, 2023, while USADA was still the independent administrator of the UFC’s Anti-Doping Program (UFC ADP). However, USADA failed to report the results of this sample to her and to UFC until October 31, 2023, more than four (4) months after the sample was collected and AFTER Alekseeva was allowed to compete in a UFC event in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 14, 2023. USADA collected two additional samples from Alekseeva BEFORE her October 14, 2023, fight, (August 8, 2023, and September 13, 2023) that were both negative. It should be noted that when CSAD took over the independent administrator role of UFC ADP from USADA on December 31, 2023, it requested additional, more specific testing of those two samples that USADA had not. The results of this additional testing facilitated by CSAD were negative. Alekseeva was also tested by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) on October 14, 2023, the date of her last UFC fight, and was negative. All three of these subsequent negative samples were collected from Alekseeva before she was informed of her June 21, 2023, positive sample.
While CSAD was not the independent administrator of the UFC ADP during the above-described time period, CSAD recognizes the importance of promptly reporting results on samples collected in the months and weeks leading up to a UFC event BEFORE the event takes place. CSAD also recognizes that positive results reported out more than 4-months after a sample is collected, and where the athlete is allowed to compete in a UFC bout in the interim, is unacceptable.
CSAD has determined that Alekseeva’s degree of fault was lowered based on the following facts:
-USADA’s failure to notify Alekseeva of the positive test for more than 4 months after the sample collection delayed and hindered her ability to recall details and produce information relating to the period when she produced the June 21, 2023, sample.
-Alekseeva produced three (3) negative test results PRIOR to her being informed of the adverse finding on October 31, 2023, supporting that she was not regularly using or being exposed to testosterone. Additionally, she provided previous samples on April 21, 2023, and April 29, 2023, that both were also negative.
-Alekseeva and her team fully cooperated with CSAD’s investigation, including submitting to multiple interviews, submitting records and shipping and transporting several products that she had consumed for testing.
Under the UFC Anti-Doping Program, CSAD, in its sole discretion may suspend all or any part of ineligibility and other consequences imposed in an individual case in which it has results management authority where the athlete has provided full and complete cooperation, where the athlete did not intend to enhance their performance and has provided full, prompt and truthful responses and information. CSAD has determined that Alekseeva’s efforts and the evidence of this case, fits these criteria, and thus CSAD is reducing the sanction against her to 12-months.
Alekseeva’s 12-month period of ineligibility began on October 15, 2023, the day after she competed in her last UFC event in Las Vegas, Nevada. Under article 10.10.1 of the UFC ADP, where there have been substantial delays in the hearing process or other aspects of doping control not attributable to the athlete, the independent administrator (CSAD) may start the period of ineligibility at an earlier date commencing as early as the date of sample collection or the date on which another anti-doping policy violation occurred. However, because Alekseeva competed on October 14, 2023, CSAD has determined that her 12-month period of ineligibility started on October 15, 2023. Therefore, she will be eligible to compete again in UFC bouts on October 15, 2024.
When Alekseeva produced the sample in question on June 21, 2023, she had an active license with the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), since she had competed in Las Vegas in April of 2023. Therefore, the NSAC also has jurisdiction over this matter. CSAD has provided these results to NSAC, who will separately determine any sanctions against Alekseeva at an upcoming NSAC meeting. Alekseeva lost her UFC bout In Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 14, 2023, to Melissa Mullins.
CSAD independently administers the year-round anti-doping program for all UFC athletes. All biological sample collections and shipping under the UFC ADP are conducted by Drug Free Sport International (DFSI), the global leader in the anti-doping industry with more than 5,000 collection personnel worldwide. All information concerning the UFC ADP, including all of its written policies and athlete test statistics can be located at ufcantidoping.com. These policies are available in multiple languages, including Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Korean, Japanese and Chinese.
CSAD also makes available a reporting mechanism for known and suspected abuse of performance-enhancing drugs in UFC at the email address tipline@csad.org .
