UFC’s Adam Hunter flagged by USADA, pulled from UFC on FOX 21 fight

Saturday night's card is down a fight.

Adam Hunter was flagged by USADA for a potential UFC anti-doping policy violation Friday and was removed from his UFC on FOX 21 bout with Ryan Janes, the UFC announced Friday.

Hunter failed a drug test in an out-of-competition sample taken Aug. 11. USADA does not release the name of the substance until after the adjudication process or when the athlete does so first.

Hunter (7-1), a middleweight, was set to make his UFC debut. The New Brunswick, Canada native was riding a seven-fight winning streak into what would have been a fight with Janes. Hunter, 32, is coming off a first-round knockout of Chris Dempsey in June under the GOTC banner.

Janes (8-1) has won seven straight and he, too, was attempting to make his UFC debut. Now the nearby Victoria, B.C., native will be without a fight on the card.

Both Hunter and Janes officially weighed in Friday morning.

The UFC released the following statement Friday evening:

The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Adam Hunter of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection on August 11, 2016.

USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case. It is important to note that, under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full fair legal review process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed.

However, because Hunter was scheduled to compete against Ryan Janes this coming Saturday, August 27 in Vancouver, British Columbia, there is insufficient time for a full review before the scheduled bout and therefore the fight has been removed from the fight card.

Consistent with all previous potential anti-doping violations, additional information or UFC statements will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.

UFC on FOX 21 takes place Saturday at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. Carlos Condit fights Demian Maia in the main event.