Two fighters test positive for banned substances at Shooto Brazil 56, Amilcar Alves stripped of title

Two fighters have tested positive for banned substances after Shooto Brazil 56 in Rio de Janeiro.

The Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA) announced on Friday that Amilcar Alves and Fabio Lima, who fought in the main and co-main event on the show on Aug. 21, respectively, failed drug tests. Both fighters received two-year suspensions.

According to the commission, four fighters were tested and all samples were analyzed by WADA-accredited labs UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory and INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier. Alves tested positive for 19-norandrosterone, while Lima’s results came positive for methylhexaneamine and stanozolol. Alves asked for the B sample to be tested.

Alves, who trains under Shooto president Andre Pederneiras at Nova Uniao, was victorious in the Shooto Brazil 56 main event, defeating then-champion Rafael Viana via unanimous decision to win the light heavyweight title. After failing the drug test, the UFC veteran was stripped of the title, and Viana was crowned the new champion. Lima, who fought Mario Sartori in the co-main event, lost via first-round knockout.

UPDATE: Amilcar Alves released a statement to MMAFighting.com about his drug test results:

First and foremost, I would like to thank for the opportunity to give my side of the facts.

I would like to say that I’ve been in the MMA world since 2006 and my biggest concern during all these years was to be a clean fighter, with no need to benefit from illegal resources to achieve my goals. I never caused any issue to any promotion I’ve fought for. I would like to make clear that I would never ‘play dirty,' especially for considering that any illegal increase of performance is a lack of respect to my training partners, my manager, the promotion I fight for, those who root for me, and especially my opponent. To me, the use of illegal substances that benefit any athlete in any way in a fight is an extremely coward move. Everywhere I’ve been, I was always welcomed.

I was not going to fight at Shooto Brazil 56. I was training, but I had no fight scheduled. Through a call from ‘Dede’ (Andre Pederneiras, president of Shooto Brazil), I was informed that Luiz ‘Banha’ (Cane) was not going to be part of the event anymore, and I was invited to replace him. I accepted it right away. On the next day, I was officially added to the card, and knowing about the drug testing, so I sent an email to CABMMA (Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission) asking if the SUPPLEMENT I had bought and used in July was considered illegal by the commission, and when I received a positive answer from them, I never used this SUPPLEMENT before to avoid more problems.

On Thursday, October 8, I was surprised by the test results. I can affirm that I have my conscience clear about everything. I never had bad intentions of doping. I would never accept to headline a card like this if I had used any kind of prohibited substance, I wouldn’t be a fool to risk my career like this. I looked out for some specific doping cases with this substance that showed up in my exam, and I’m still looking for all information possible to understand what really happened so this case can be fully explained.

I would like to say that I have nothing against CABMMA, they were very kind and patient while explaining to me what had happened. I don’t doubt the authenticity of this test, but I also still don’t know what could have happened.

I would like to thank everyone who helped me in this difficult moment, and I’m sure this case will be solved and I will be back to doing what I love the most, which is fight MMA.

Thank you,

Amilcar Alves