UFC veteran Erik Koch has accepted an 18-month suspension from the United States Anti-Doping Agency for violating the UFC’s anti-doping policy.
USADA officials announced the news on Wednesday. Koch is no longer an active member of the UFC roster, but a positive drug test two months prior to his departure made him subject to the promotion’s anti-doping program.
According to the report, Koch tested positive for “3′-hydroxy-stanozolol, a metabolite of stanozolol, as the result of a urine sample collected on October 3, 2020.” Stanozolol is an anabolic steroid banned at all times for athletes competing under the UFC’s anti-doping policy.
Typically, testing positive for steroids would result in an automatic two-year suspension, but USADA officials detailed why Koch ultimately received a six-month reduction in his penalty.
“Koch received a six-month reduction to the default two-year sanction based on his Full and Complete Cooperation (FCC) based on the unique circumstances of his case,” USADA officials said in a statement. “Under the UFC ADP, USADA may grant an FCC reduction in the event an athlete demonstrates that they did not intend to enhance their performance and provided full, prompt, and truthful responses and information to all reasonable inquiries and requests for information.”
Koch’s suspension was made retroactive to the date his test was collected, which means he would be eligible to return to until after April 3, 2022. Athletic commissions that are members of the Association of Boxing Commissions have voted to recognize USADA suspensions.
Koch hasn’t fought in the UFC since 2019 when he earned a decision win over Kyle Stewart. It was previously reported that Koch had parted ways with the UFC in December 2020, or two months after his positive drug test.