Bassil Hafez won’t be able to fight until March 2027. |
Getty/UFC
Bassil
Hafez has been suspended for one year after failing an
out-of-competition drug test earlier this year.
UFC anti-doping partner Combat Sports Anti-Doping announced the sanction on Wednesday. The welterweight
fighter tested positive for ipamorelin, a prohibited peptide
hormone, in a sample collected on March 20 in Las Vegas.
“During CSAD’s investigation, Hafez provided full and complete
cooperation as defined under the UFC ADP,” the statement read. “His
cooperation included identifying and introducing CSAD to a wellness
clinic he had used to obtain substances he believed were permitted
for injury recovery purposes. Hafez has not competed since November
2024 due to injury and did not have a bout scheduled at the time
the sample was collected.
“Evidence gathered during the investigation indicated that,
although Hafez claimed he was unaware that a product provided to
him by the wellness clinic contained ipamorelin, he acted with
gross negligence by consuming the product without conducting
adequate due diligence regarding its ingredients and their
prohibited status.”
CSAD determined that Hafez did not use ipamorelin to gain an
advantage in any scheduled competition. He will be able to return
to UFC competition on March 20, 2027.
Lesson Learned
On Tuesday, Hafez announced that he had failed a drug test via
social media.
“I took a supplement during my healing process that ended up
containing a banned substance. I had provided the clinic with the
banned substance list and made it clear that those ingredients were
not allowed, but it still ended up being included in the mix,”
Hafez wrote.
“At the end of the day, it falls on me for not double and triple
checking before taking it. Being injured and sidelined from the
sport I’ve spent the last 16 years training for has been incredibly
rough, both mentally and physically. The could’ve, would’ve,
should’ve won’t change anything now.
“I’ve been tested my entire career (17 times to be exact) and have
never had a positive test or any issues before this. All I can say
is that mistakes happen, and I’ll learn from this.”
Hafez made his Octagon debut in 2023, giving future welterweight
champ Jack
Della Maddalena a tough test before falling via split decision
at UFC on ESPN 49. “The Habibi” has since earned a three-round
verdict against Mickey Gall
before suffering a knockout loss to Oban
Elliott at UFC 309.