BREAKING: Kyler Phillips and Darrius Flowers suspended 6 months for banned substance

Featherweight contender Kyler Phillips and lightweight Darrius Flowers were both sidelined by the NSAC after testing positive for the banned substance ostarine.

Despite the UFC’s partnership with the US Anti-Doping Agency in an attempt to combat the use of performance enhancing drugs, doping remains a major problem in MMA.

This problem came to light again today when it was reported that two fighters have been suspended for six months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

The drug is a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM), and it is not approved by the FDA.

Phillips and Flowers aren’t the first UFC fighters to fail drug tests for this substance. Prior users include Marvin Vettori, Sean O’Malley and Amanda Ribas, although a number of these fighters blamed contaminated supplements.

Phillips and Flowers will presumably be allowed to appeal the NSAC’s decision to suspend them, although there is no news on this yet.

Arizona’s Kyler Phillips last fought in the octagon in February 2022, submitting Marcelo Rojo in the third round. He holds an octagon record of 4-1.

Darius Flowers, meanwhile, has not actually made his official octagon debut yet. He earned a contract with the promotion after his knockout of Amiran Gogoladze on Dana White’s Contender Series went viral thanks to its resemblance to a Tombstone Piledriver.

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UFC drug testing: What happened when Sean O’Malley tested positive for ostarine?

The use of ostarine has been a problem in the UFC for some time, and it’s arguable that the most high-profile fighter to test positive for the drug is Sean O’Malley.

The top bantamweight contender was suspended by USADA after failing a pre-fight drug test for the substance before a planned bout with Jose Quinonez in 2018.

‘Sugar’ was eventually suspended for six months for the infraction, although he blamed a tainted supplement for the positive test.