USADA nixes Hector Lombard from cornering teammate Valerie Letourneau at UFC 193

It's not exactly guilty by association, but that's what United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) is looking out for.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women's strawweight No. 1 contender Valerie Letourneau won't be cornered by fellow American Top Team (ATT) product and currently suspended welterweight mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Hector Lombard when she faces 115-pound champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk at the UFC 193 pay-per-view (PPV), per MMAjunkie.

USADA isn't just clamping down on performance-enhancing drugs (PED's) in the sport, but they're also strictly enforcing the parameters laid out in UFC's anti-doping program, where a fighter previously caught taking PED's would be labeled, in such case as the Canadian's, "athlete support personnel."

Each party would then be in violation of the prohibited association rule.

"I think the spirit of the prohibited association is for somebody who is distributing or advising an athlete on how to use drugs, not an athlete who was using themselves and got caught," UFC Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitzky said.

Lombard was suspended one year from the date of his last Octagon tussle with Josh Burkman at UFC 182 back in January for the anabolic steroid desoxymethyltestosterone.

Both Lombard and Letourneau have been notified of the would-be foul by Novitzky and have since remained clear of any wrong-doing. An initial violation for the fighting party would carry a steep two-year suspension, while Lombard, who's suspended as it is, would see his one-year dismissal doubled.

"Trouble," who sports an 8-3 overall record (3-0 UFC), trains at the South Florida gym and considers the Cuban Judo standout to be the one whose helped her the most from the facility.

"I don't care whatever he's going to put into his body - and I know what happened to him, " Letourneau said. "I'm never going to change with whom I train because they get caught with something, and that doesn't change them as a person, too."

For the complete UFC 193: 'Rousey vs. Holm' fight card, which takes place inside Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, click here.