Bellator bantamweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov has been suspended for six months after a failed drug test, his win over Brent Primus at Bellator 300 has been overturned to a no-contest, and he has been fined $50,000 for the infraction.
Bellator bantamweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov has been suspended six months for a failed drug test, and his Bellator 300 win over Brent Primus has been overturned to a no-contest.
Ariel Helwani first reported the news, and California State Athletic Commission Executive Director Andy Foster confirmed it, adding Nurmagomedov has been fined $50,000 for the infraction.
Foster said Nurmagomedov’s drug positive stemmed from a prescription medicine and declined to name the substance. He also did not say whether Nurmagomedov or his team had accepted responsibility for the positive test or signaled a potential appeal.
Nurmagomedov’s rep, Ali Abdelaziz, did not respond to a request for comment.
Nurmagomedov faced Primus in the main event of this past month’s Bellator 300 event in the semifinals of the promotion’s $1 million bantamweight grand prix. After five rounds, Nurmagomedov took home unanimous 50-45 scorecards for a dominant performance. Bellator President Scott Coker did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Nurmagomedov’s failure or the status of the tournament.
Primus, a former Bellator lightweight champion, made it to the tournament semifinals with a decision over Mansour Barnaoui at Bellator 296.