Kelvin Gastelum scores reduced sentence from USADA, eligible to make UFC return in June

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum, currently under a 90-day disciplinary suspension from Brazilian MMA Sports Court, will also serve a three-month sit from United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

And in this case, three is a lot better than six.

Gastelum tested positive for marijuana metabolites in the wake of his technical knockout win over Vitor Belfort at UFC Fight Night 106, which has since been changed to a “No Contest,” and had his USADA sentence reduced by 90 days after successfully completing a drug awareness program.

USADA with the official statement:

Gastelum accepted a six-month period of ineligibility, which began on March 11, 2017, the date of sample collection. Based on Gastelum’s successful completion of a USADA approved drug awareness and management program, his period of ineligibility was reduced by three months and is now scheduled to expire on June 10, 2017.

Because the UFC Fight Night event in Fortaleza was sanctioned by the Comissao Atletica Brasileira de MMA (CABMMA), Gastelum’s positive test also falls under the jurisdiction of the Brazilian MMA Sports Court, which has the authority to independently adjudicate the case in accordance with CABMMA’s rules and regulations. Following the reduction to a three-month period of ineligibility, Gastelum’s sanction under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy is now identical in length to the period of ineligibility imposed by the Brazilian MMA Sports Court on May 7, 2017.

That makes The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 17 winner eligible for one of the big pay-per-view (PPV) cards in July (see them here). And if former middleweight champion Anderson Silva can work out his issues with UFC, there is no reason why these two can’t pick up where they left off just a few weeks back.

Time will tell.