'Cro Cop' first UFC fighter to fail USADA drug test

Mirko Filipovic might be officially retired from MMA, but it appears “Cro Cop” will soon be formally suspended from competing in the sport, as well.


UFC officials today announced the veteran heavyweight is the first athlete to be flagged for a potential violation of the company’s new anti-doping policy, which is administered by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). The substance found in Filipovic’s system was not revealed.


Here’s the statement:

UFC announced today that a scheduled bout between Mirko Cro Cop and Anthony Hamilton in Seoul, South Korea has been canceled. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has notified both Mirko Cro Cop and UFC that he has been provisionally suspended at this time due to a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation.
USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Cro Cop. Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time in the process.



Filipovic (31-11-2 MMA, 5-6 UFC) announced his MMA retirement – making no mention of a failed drug test – earlier this week. UFC officials today said his planned UFC Fight Night 79 bout with Anthony Hamilton (14-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has been canceled. Rather than seek a replacement opponent on short notice, Hamilton instead will be be rebooked on a later card.


UFC Fight Night 79 takes place Nov. 28 at Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul. The entire event streams on UFC Fight Pass. “Cro Cop” vs. Hamilton was slated as the night’s co-headliner. A replacement bout hasn’t been announced.


In an announcement posted on his official website on Tuesday, Filipovic said a shoulder injury forced him to pull out of the fight.


“I tried to save a shoulder injury and repair in all possible ways: daily therapy, injections of blood plasma and various cocktails of drugs but didn’t work out,” the 41-year-old Croatian wrote. “The only cure would be a break of two to three weeks, and that I could not afford in the midst of final preparations. By daily trainings the injury gets worse. Part of the muscle is snapped, the shoulder is filled with a lot of fluids, and the great danger is that tendon ruptures and then go to operation again.”


“Cro Cop,” a former star in the now-defunct Japanese fight promotion PRIDE, made a long-awaited UFC debut in 2007 but went 1-2 and made a quick departure. He then returned in 2009 and went 3-4 and announced his retirement, but it was short-lived, and he returned to kickboxing and then MMA. In April, he joined the UFC for a third stint and earned a “Fight of the Night” bonus for his TKO win over Gabriel Gonzaga. It then led to the booking against Hamilton.


However, injuries – a constant nuisance in the second half of his career – again became an issue in recent years.


After a decorated run in combat sports, his career now carries an unfortunate footnote. The UFC launched its anti-doping initiative back in July, and though more than a hundred fighters had undergone tests, none had failed a USADA-administered drug test prior to Filipovic.

In a statement subsequently posted on his official website, mirkofilipovic.com, the Croatian vet admits to using “a little mix of growth hormone.” The 41-year-old maintains it was in an effort to speed up the recovery of a shoulder injury, that he felt he had no other choices, and that “a desperate man will try anything.”

“Growth hormones are on the list of banned substances,” he wrote. “I knew that already. But there was no other way to save my shoulder – at least in my mind – without combining the blood plasma with growth hormones.”


Filipovic (31-11-2 MMA, 5-6 UFC) said he admitted to using growth hormone, but only after USADA officials came to test him. According to the fighter, he hasn’t received the results of the tests, though admitting to using the banned substance is a violation of the policy, which the UFC implemented earlier this year.


The full statement:


I might be the first fighter who has ever been suspended after retirement. Maybe they think it is good for them to sanction someone that is well known. As you all know, the UFC has a deal with the USADA, an anti doping agency, who now tests all fighters.



Every fighter has to fill up questionnaires for the USADA “whereabouts” system. Like all the other fighters, I also had to fill out the questionnaire so they knew where to come and test me.



When my shoulder problems started, basic methods like massages and icing the shoulder did not help. Then I went to blood plasma which went straight into my shoulder. With each blood plasma, I had a little mix of growth hormone to make my shoulder heal faster.



Growth hormones are on the list of banned substances. I knew that already. But there was no other way to save my shoulder – at least in my mind – without combining the blood plasma with growth hormones.



Unfortunately it turns out the only cure was a good break and rest. But a desperate man will try anything.



After 6 days of growth hormone and plasma injections, the USADA came to test me. I gave them my blood sample and urine samples and immediately told the UFC about the test. I also said that I had been taking blood plasma and growth hormone since nothing else was working.



I wanted to have this fight, at any cost. I knew if I didn’t have the fight after an 8 month layoff, it was the end for me. I could not afford to wait 5 or 6 more months to fight.



The test results are not even finished, and I’m not even sure if they are going to find anything because I used the treatment for a few days to recover my shoulder and fight, that’s it. Now they have given me some kind of suspension because I told them myself that I have been getting the treatment, and to top it all of I pulled out of the fight.



It is stupid to even mention that the hormone only heals the body and that the dosages can probably only be detected for a few (10) days. I would be perfectly clean until the fight.



It did not make me any better or increase my performance like testosterone or anabolic steroids would, but those are the rules. On Friday I was still telling them to not cancel the fight and that I wanted to fight because of all the hard work I had done.



I told them I will go to the USADA and tell them what is going on, and I was willing to get a lot of tests before and after the fight and everything would be OK.



I was tested 5 different times up to this point in the UFC, the last time after the Gonzaga fight, and each time the test results were clear.



Saturday training was the last one that I had with preparations in mind, which is when my shoulder “broke” its limit. The MRI showed on Monday that it was a ruptured muscle and damaged tendons, filled with liquid.



And that is when I broke and made my decision.



This calling out and suspensions have no meaning anymore, but I do understand the UFC; I get it. They just want to defend themselves.



Now it will come out that I was taking illegal substances or doping or something, but it is not like that. Now it is what it is; God forbid there is no more trouble.



With Filipovic officially out, opponent Anthony Hamilton (14-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has been pulled from the UFC Fight Night 79 card, which takes place Nov. 28 and streams on UFC Fight Pass at Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul. He’ll be booked for a future card, according to officials.


“USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving ‘Cro Cop,'” UFC officials said in a statement on Wednesday. “Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time in the process.”