Despite initial reservations against fighting in his native land while serving a three-year doping suspension, Alexander Shlemenko recently informed Russian media that he will indeed fight again in the near future.
The former Bellator middleweight champion informed Tass.ru that he is currently shopping around for a Russian promotion to host his next fight.
"I plan to fight again. for a Russian organization." Shlemenko said.
Shlemenko (51-9) tested positive for a banned substance in 2015, which was later revealed to be an elevated testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio of 50:1 due to the steroid oxandrolone and oxandrolone metabolites. However, Shlemenko's attorney's main case is that his client's B-Sample was not tested, which is an alleged violation of the agreement with the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory in Los Angeles.
After being fined $10,000 and suspended for three years for a positive drug test, many believed that Alexander Shlemenko would take the opportunity to compete in Russia, where he is a native of Omsk. However, Shlemenko shrugged off the idea in favor of a lawsuit against the California State Athletic Commission, which he filed several months ago.
If Shlemenko violates his suspension, he will likely be unable to resume his U.S. career once the suspension is lifted. He remains under contract with Bellator MMA.