The pay-per-view portion of UFC 212 just suffered a major blow as Kelvin Gastelum has been pulled from his bout with Anderson Silva due to a potential marijuana violation.
Gastelum was informed of “a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation involving Carboxy-Tetrahydrocannabinol (“Carboxy-THC”) which is a metabolite of marijuana and/or hashish.”
UFC's statement on Gastelum's potential violation combines “innocent until proven guilty” with “too bad, so sad” while describing the details of Gastelum's suspension:
“While the UFC Anti-Doping Policy affords Gastelum full and fair due process rights before any possible adjudication of his case, because of the proximity to Gastelum’s scheduled June 3rd bout against Anderson Silva, Gastelum is being removed from the card and a replacement is currently being sought.”
The violation in question stems from the results of a sample Gastelum submitted the night of his bout with Vitor Belfort on March 11, a sample that was reportedly over the 180 ng/mL World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) decision limit for Carboxy-THC.
That bout resulted in a first-round TKO victory for Gastelum, which propelled him into the top ten of UFC's middleweight rankings. That win remains a win for Gastelum, but it could be overturned in the near future. Currently, Gastelum has been placed on provisional suspension.
Gastelum's pro record is currently 14-2 with the win over Belfort, and the bout with Silva was seen as his potential star-making moments in UFC.
The middleweight bout between Gastelum and Silva was positioned as the co-main event of the June 3rd fight card. Now, one of UFC's most famous fighters is looking for a new opponent.
