Walt "The Big Ticket" Harris PHOTO
12.05.2019

UFC Heavyweight Walt Harris Tests Positive for LGD-4033

Walt Harris used a contaminated dietary supplement that did not list the banned performance-enhancing drug on its label.

Walt “The Big Ticket” Harris, a mixed martial arts (MMA) athlete competing in the heavyweight division of Ultimate Fight Championship (UFC), has been suspended after testing positive for a prohibited performance-enhancing drug (PED).

Harris tested positive for LGD-4033. LGD-4033 is classified as a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM). SARMs act like anabolic steroids by exerting their effects via the androgen receptor. However, SARMs are structurally different than traditional anabolic steroids.

The LGD-4033 positive resulted from a urine sample collected by drug testing officers employed by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) at UFC 232 on December 30, 2018.

Harris defeated Andrei Arlovski by split decision at UFC 232. But the victory was declared a “no contest” after Harris was disqualified following his failed drug test.

“The Big Ticket” was the unwitting victim of the contaminated supplement Bio-Genix Test Shock.

The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) determined that Harris did not intentionally use LGD-4033 in violation of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy. Harris provided USADA with evidence of supplement contamination as the culprit.

USADA independently obtained two unopened containers of the dietary supplement used by Harris. The dietary supplement in question appears to be Bio-Genix Test-Shock.

The Test-Shock samples were submitted to the Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory (SMARTL) in Salt Lake City for chemical analysis in March 2019. SMARTL is a WADA-accredited laboratory.

SMARTL detected the presence of LGD-4033 and 2-Amino-5-mehtylhexane (DMHA) in the samples. Bio-Genix Test Shock as added to the USADA Supplement 411 High-Risk List on April 15, 2019.

USADA reduced Harris’ suspension to 4-months in light of the evidence of supplement contamination. Harris was retroactively suspended from December 30, 2018. His period of ineligibility will conclude at the end of April 2019.

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