UFC Atlantic City’s Augusto Mendes flagged by USADA, Dvalishvili fight scrapped

When Augusto Mendes made his UFC debut back in 2016, he did so by jumping right into the deep end. The former elite Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitor – with multiple ADCC & IBJJF world championships to his name – took on rising star Cody Garbrandt in his first bout in the Octagon, losing by KO in the first round.

Nearly a year later, after recovering from ACL surgery, he made his return, a win over Frankie Saenz. A loss to Aljamain Sterling followed, and Mendes was once again sidelined by another leg injury. The now 35-year-old had been expected to compete against Merab Dvalishvili on April 21st, his first bout in exactly one year. Instead, it looks like he’ll be waiting for a while longer yet.

The UFC announced - via press release, on Tuesday, March 20th - that Mendes had been flagged by USADA for an out-of competition drug test failure, stemming from a sample taken on March 7th. And as a result, the MMA Lab bantamweight has been removed from his bout on the UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Lee card.

His scheduled opponent, Merab Dvalishvili (7-3), is coming off a contentious Octagon debut loss to Frankie Saenz at UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Ortega. The promotion is currently seeking a replacement opponent for him on the Atlantic City fight card.