LAS VEGAS — Dana White has leaped to the defense of Ryan Garcia, who the New York State Athletic Commission recently banned for one year after he tested positive for a banned substance.
“From what my team tells me, and these guys are the f****** best, [it was a] tainted supplement,” the UFC boss said.
Garcia produced the performance of a lifetime when he dropped Devin Haney three times en route to a decision win on April 20 at Barclays Center in New York. This, though, was later ruled a no-contest after drug testers detected Ostarine in the 25-year-old boxer’s urine.
His legal team issued a statement to WBN on May 31, in which they said: “The test results from samples of two supplements declared by Ryan Garcia on VADA Doping Control Forms, signed on April 19th and 20th, have returned positive for Ostarine contamination.”
They added that “confidential test reports” indicated this banned substance came from two NutraBIO-branded supplements.
NutraBIO vehemently denied this, issuing a statement indicating “no Ostarine” was found in their products after their own testing.
CEO and Founder Mark Glazier even called Garcia’s claims “reckless,” adding: “Any express or implied statements suggesting that our product contained Ostarine when it was sold are completely unfounded.”
In recent years, numerous UFC fighters have tested positive for Ostarine, including UFC bantamweight champion and No.6-ranked pound-for-pound star Sean O’Malley, who has an online rivalry with Garcia.
After UFC 303 on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, White talked to World Boxing News and other reporters about Ostarine, Garcia, and his ban from boxing.
“None of that is any of my business — it’s not my card,” he began. “I hate talking about drug testing, but with all my knowledge … in the years [UFC has] been drug testing, we believe the people who handle the drug testing that he took a tainted supplement and did not cheat.”
White said that if Garcia “had the right people around him,” none of this would have happened.
He reiterated that, as he’s the president of the market-leading MMA promotion, he has “no skin” in the boxing business. “I don’t give a s***; it’s not my fight and none of my business.”
However, he also said UFC is “pretty confident it was a tainted supplement.”
Though Garcia’s ban expires in April 2025, it hardly dents his status as one of boxing’s biggest stars.
As we reported last month, Garcia could be thrust into one of at least two possible world title opportunities once he has served his suspension.
Premier Boxing Champions consultant Stephen Espinoza welcomed a fight between PBC feature attraction Gervonta Davis and Golden Boy Promotions boxer Garcia, calling it a “massive, massive rematch” when speaking exclusively to World Boxing News.
And boxing coach Bob Santos appeared keen to see his fighter Mario Barrios take on Garcia next year during an interview with us discussing a Manny Pacquiao vs Barrios mega match later in 2024.
Alan Dawson is World Boxing News Lead Writer, a 2 x Sports Journalist of the Year finalist, and 5 x BWAA awards winner. Follow Alan @AlanDawsonSport.
