Former UFC Champ Fabricio Werdum Facing Potential Anti-Doping Violation

It's been a whirlwind week for former UFC champion Fabricio Werdum. Just a day after reportedly being booked for one of the biggest fights of his career, Vai Cavalo is instead now looking at a battle with the United States Anti-Doping Agency due to a flagged out-of-competition drug test. 

The news was first reported by ESPN's Brett Okamoto:

It remains unclear for what Werdum has been flagged (which is standard USADA protocol). However, his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, issued the following statement on his behalf:

While this story is still developing, the timing couldn't have been worse.

On Monday, Ariel Helwani reported on The MMA Hour (h/t MMAFighting.com) that the Brazilian was reportedly set to face veteran grappler Alexei Oleinik in September at UFC Fight Night Moscow. At face value, the bout would be a critical one for the former champion—as Werdum would have been main eventing the UFC's first-ever trip to Russia—but it was also a strong opportunity for him to rebound from his loss to Alexander Volkov in March.

This potential anti-doping violation, however, could take the bout off the table and potentially jeopardizes his entire fighting future.

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Failed drug tests can carry potentially huge penalties in the UFC's USADA era. Bantamweight Jimmie Rivera receiving a four-year suspension in January serves as a recent example.

Challenging a failed drug test, even if successful, can take an extended period of time, as was seen with former champion Josh Barnett, who was forcibly shelved for over a year before ultimately receiving no official suspension.

Already 40 years old and 16 years into his professional MMA career, Werdum potentially could see it ended by a lengthy suspension from USADA. While there is the possibility that he might receive a lighter punishment due to extenuating circumstances, the odds of an expedient resolution to his case are slim.

In the short-term, the UFC Fight Night Moscow main event will likely be rebooked (with Oleinik also probably to fall out of the top billing). In the long-term, there could be some tough times ahead for Werdum.