The former UFC heavyweight champion received only a public reprimand following arbitration in his USADA doping case, the agency announced Friday. That means Barnett will receive no suspension and can return to the Octagon right away.
Barnett, 40, tested positive for the banned substance ostarine in an out-of-competition drug test stemming from a sample collected Dec. 9, 2016. Barnett and his legal team were able to show the arbitrator that the ostarine came via a tainted supplement. Richard H. McLaren, the chief arbitrator of McLaren Global Sport Solutions, Inc., heard the case.
“Given the source was established to be a contaminated supplement, along with the athlete’s care and diligence concerning the nutritional products consumed, the arbitrator determined that a public reprimand was appropriate,” USADA stated in the release.