Lyoto Machida was removed from an upcoming fight against Dan Henderson after he declared that he used a banned substance.
Machida was slated to fight Henderson on Saturday night at UFC on FOX 19.
The UFC released the following statement:
The UFC organization was made aware today by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, that Lyoto Machida declared the usage of a banned substance during an out-of-competition sample collection last week. Machida stated that he was unaware that the substance was prohibited both in and out of competition and, in accordance with the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, his disclosure of usage will be taken into consideration by USADA during any potential results management and adjudication process.
Given this information, UFC officials have elected to remove Machida from his scheduled bout against Dan Henderson this Saturday in Tampa, Fla. Henderson will be re-booked for a new bout in the near future.
Henderson, to little surprise, was irate with Machida's admission.
P.O.S. -No respect https://t.co/03O5oM7sM9
— Dan Henderson (@danhendo) April 13, 2016
Saturday's contest was a highly anticipated rematch between the two fighters. In their lone encounter, Machida defeated Henderson via split decision at UFC 157 in February 2013.
Machida was a one-time light heavyweight champion, but surrendered the belt to Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua in a defeat at UFC 113.
