5 UFC fighters who tested positive for PEDs and came clean about it

#4 Tim Sylvia (former UFC heavyweight champion)

Tim Sylvia admitted that he used anabolic steroids to improve his physique in 2003

Back in the early 2000’s, performance enhancing drugs were supposedly rife in the world of MMA, but due to the limited testing system at the time, very few UFC fighters actually tested positive for them. However, a handful still fell foul and wound up in serious trouble.

One of the unlucky few to find himself in hot water for his PED usage was then-UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia. ‘The Maine-iac’ won his title from Ricco Rodriguez at UFC 41 in early 2003, and then defended it successfully against Gan McGee later that year.

However, Sylvia failed his post-fight drug test, testing positive for a banned anabolic steroid called stanozolol. It was the same drug that sprinter Ben Johnson had tested positive for at the 1988 Olympics.

Rather than deny it or attempt to blame a “contaminated supplement”, Sylvia instantly came clean about what he’d done. In an interview just weeks after the positive test was revealed, ‘The Maine-iac’ fronted up and explained why he’d used the substance.

"I decided to try some things and maybe change my physique a little bit and get in better shape. But whatever I used, it came back positive."

Sylvia was surprisingly candid, stating that he’d used the drug to improve his physique, and that he fully expected it to be out of his system by the time his fight with McGee came around.

But Sylvia’s honest nature couldn’t save him from being stripped of his UFC title and suspended. Incredibly, the substance hadn’t actually left Sylvia’s system by the time the suspension ended, resulting in the cancelation of his next fight as well.

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#3 Kimo Leopoldo

UFC legend Kimo Leopoldo admitted to using performance enhancers for his 2004 clash with Ken Shamrock

One of the stars of the UFC’s early years, Kimo Leopoldo became as well-known for his imposing physique (he looked like a star villain from a 1980’s Jean-Claude van Damme flick) as he did for his fighting skills inside the octagon.

But after losses to the likes of Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock, Kimo departed the UFC in 1996. And so when he suddenly returned in 2003 and defeated Tank Abbott, he took plenty of UFC fans by surprise.

Perhaps most surprising was the fact that despite being 36 years old, Leopoldo still had his trademark intimidating physique. Plenty of fans smelt a rat, and so when Kimo then fought Ken Shamrock and tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid after his loss, few eyebrows were raised.

For his part, Kimo was quite happy to come clean about his use of performance enhancing drugs after he’d been suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

The Hawaiian stated that he used the steroid stanozolol to attempt to gain extra strength for the fight, and didn’t realize he’d actually be tested.

"I did do some Winstrol in that fight, but at that time it was so early that I didn’t know I was going to be tested."

Unfortunately, the incident wasn’t Kimo’s last brush with PEDs. Despite being fined $5k and being suspended for six months, the Hawaiian failed another drug test for the same substance prior to a planned fight in the WFA promotion in 2006, and was promptly pulled from the event.