USADA hands two-year suspension to Paulo Costa's doctor
On Monday, USADA announced that it has handed a two-year suspension to Brazilian doctor Lucas Penchel for violating the UFC’s anti-doping policy in relation to an incident involving UFC middleweight and #1 contender Paulo Costa.
USADA held the doctor guilty for prescribing IV infusions over the legal limit to the Brazilian fighter. Here's an excerpt from the statement released by the USADA.
“Dr. Lucas Penchel, of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, has accepted a two-year sanction for a violation of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy (UFC ADP) resulting from his complicity in the administration and use of over-limit intravenous (IV) infusions of permitted substances on June 2, 2017 and November 3, 2017 by Carlos Costa and Paulo Costa, respectively. Dr. Penchel, like all athlete support personnel, was entrusted to help athletes make safe and informed decisions, but instead, he violated anti-doping rules and his oath to best protect athletes’ health and safety”
Costa was subsequently banned for six months after he tested positive for having received IV infusions beyond the permissible limit. In his defense, Costa stated that the IV infusions were meant to help him recover from the grueling weight cut ahead of UFC 217.
Dr. Penchel’s two-year suspension began with a retrospective effect, starting March 17 which essentially means he won't be allowed to work with the UFC until March 17, 2022.