We possibly have a better understanding of why Sean O’Malley was pulled from his UFC 248 fight in March.
Several days ago, it was revealed that his bantamweight fight against Jose Quinonez was pulled from UFC 248, though the details surrounding the circumstances were unknown.
Now, it’s been confirmed that O’Malley had failed his second drug test issued by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). It was announced by USADA that O’Malley accepted a six-month suspension and will not be able to compete until February 2020.
USADA revealed that the 25-year-old failed an out-of-competition urine test for ostarine on August 6, 2019 and August 12, 2019. O’Malley will be able to compete again so quickly since the suspension is retroactive to the date of the failure.
While this isn’t the exact reason that the bantamweight fight was pulled from the UFC 248 card (as O’Malley is still eligible to compete in March), this isn’t a good look for the Tuesday Night Contender alumni. O’Malley was suspended back in 2018 for testing positive of ostarine as well. While O’Malley won’t be out for a considerable amount of time, him being pulled off the UFC 248 card could be a telling sign for his future within the promotion.