USADA suspends Jessica Penne 18 months for failed drug test

Jessica Penne will miss most of 2018 due to a UFC anti-doping policy violation.

The women’s mixed martial arts veteran tested positive for the presence of an anabolic steroid of exogenous origin following an out-of-competition test in relation to a sample taken March 20, 2017, USADA, the UFC’s anti-doping partner, announced Friday.

An anabolic steroid positive usually leads to a two-year suspension, but Penne was able to explain that she was taking a substance that contained the steroid under the care of a physician. USADA wrote that Penne was not able to receive a retroactive therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), the anabolic agent that caused the positive drug…