Former UFC flyweight Carlos Mota accepts 2-year USADA suspension for meldonium

Carlos Mota will not be back for some time.

On Tuesday, the U.S.Anti-Doping Agency announced that the Brazilian flyweight accepted a two-year suspension that will keep him out of action until Oct. 29, 2024. MMA Fighting previously reported Mota’s suspension by the Nevada Athletic Commission earlier this month.

Mota twice tested positive for the banned substance meldonium, first during an in-competition test on Oct. 29, 2022, in relation to his UFC debut, and a second time during an out-of-competition test on Nov. 22, 2022. Because Mota was not notified of his first positive test at the time his second test was collected, the two positive tests have been combined into a single violation, USADA said in press release.

Meldonium is perhaps best known as the drug tennis star Maria Sharipova tested positive for at the 2016 Australian Open; the compound improves athletic endurance and recovery. Per USADA, Meldonium is “a non-Specified Substance in the category of Hormone and Metabolic Modulators and is prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and the UFC Prohibited List.”

Mota (8-2) has been a professional since 2016, amassing an 8-2 record in that time. A one-time LFA flyweight title challenger, Mota made his UFC debut against Cody Durden at UFC Vegas 63, losing via unanimous decision. He was released by the promotion earlier this month.