Mirko Cro Cop suspended by UFC for potential drug test violation

It seemed rather sudden, and there appears to be more to the story of the sudden retirement of UFC heavyweight Mirko Cro Cop on Tuesday.

The UFC announced on Wednesday that Cro Cop has been notified by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency of a potential violation of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and has been provisionally suspended. The UFC released a full statement on their website on Wednesday.

“UFC announced today that a scheduled bout between Mirko Cro Cop and Anthony Hamilton in Seoul, South Korea has been canceled. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has notified both Mirko Cro Cop and UFC that he has been provisionally suspended at this time due to a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation,” the statement read.

“USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Cro Cop. Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time in the process.”

Cro Cop was scheduled to fight Hamilton in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 79 on November 28, but then announced he was out of the fight due to a shoulder injury and retiring from the sport. With today’s announcement, Cro Cop becomes the first fighter to be suspended since USADA took over the responsibilities for the UFC’s anti-doping program in July. Cro Cop last competed at UFC Fight Night 64 in April, scoring a TKO win over Gabriel Gonzaga in Krakow, Poland.

The UFC announced they will book Hamilton in a new bout on a card in the near future.