Tag: Walt Harris

UFC heavyweight Walt Harris suspended until 2027 for multiple drug test violations

Walt Harris becomes the first UFC fighter to receive a suspension from Combat Sports Anti-Doping.

Multiple drug test positives have landed longtime UFC heavyweight [autotag]Walt Harris[/autotag] a four-year suspension retroactive to the sample date.

The suspension marks the first given by Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD), since the UFC and USADA split at the beginning of 2024.

According to CSAD, Harris, 40, tested positive for multiple substances across the span of three sample collections. June 24 and July 12 tests were flagged for drostanalone and testosterone of exogenous origin.

On Aug. 6, Harris provided blood and urine samples that tested positive for anastrozole, as well as the previously detected substances (drostanalone and testosterone of exogenous origin).

Based on the values of the exogenous origin testosterone, CSAD determined the adverse finding was due to “new administration.”

Harris was suspended four years retroactive the date he was first notified of the adverse findings. He will be eligible to return July 11, 2027. Harris previously received a one-year suspension from the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC).

Prior to the string of recent adverse findings, Harris was suspended once in 2019 after he tested positive for LGD-4033. The failed test was attributed to a banned substance and Harris told MMA Junkie at the time he planned to pursue legal action.

Harris has not competed since a June 2021 loss to Marcin Tybura. The defeat was his third in a row.

NAC suspends UFC heavyweight Walt Harris one year for drostanalone

UFC heavyweight Walt Harris will sit on the shelf until mid-2024 due to a failed drug test, the Nevada Athletic Commission told MMA Junkie.

UFC heavyweight [autotag]Walt Harris[/autotag] won’t be permitted to fight until mid-2024.

Tuesday, a Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) official informed MMA Junkie the longtime UFC fighter received a one-year suspension and a $392.60 legal fee fine after a positive June 24 test for drostanalone and its metabolites. Since the test was out of competition, there was no purse fine.

Harris will be eligible to return June 24, 2024.

The positive test is the second of Harris’ career. In 2019, he tested positive for LGD4033, a muscle-wasting medication, due to a tainted supplement. He was suspended four months by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) and his UFC 232 win was overturned.

Harris, 40, was transparent about the positive test, so much so he announced the news himself when his UFC on ESPN 49 bout vs. Josh Parisian was canceled in July.

Walt Harris owns up to USADA issue after cancellation of UFC on ESPN 49 fight

Three days before UFC on ESPN 49, its only heavyweight bout was removed from the lineup.

The lone heavyweight bout scheduled for UFC on ESPN 49 is no longer happening.

On Wednesday, [autotag]Walt Harris[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Josh Parisian[/autotag] was removed from Saturday’s card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the news to MMA Junkie after an initial report by MMA Fighting. The person asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Shortly after news surfaced of his bout’s removal, Harris (13-10 MMA, 6-9 UFC) revealed on Instagram a USADA-related issue caused the cancellation.

“I believe this came from a supplement that I’ve trusted my entire career, but at the end of the day it was never USADA approved. I’m a complete idiot for not checking prior, but I’m definitely not a cheater. I sincerely want to apologize to my opponent Josh Parisian.”

See Harris’ full statement below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cum1R1kR_ii/

The bout was expected to be the first for Harris since June 2021. He aimed to snap a three-fight skid, which included defeats to Alistair Overeem, Alexander Volkov, and Marcin Tybura.

Parisian (15-6 MMA, 2-3 UFC) has alternated losses and wins since his UFC debut in November 2020. He most recently competed in February when he lost a unanimous decision to Jamal Pogues.

With the removal, the UFC on ESPN 49 lineup now includes:

  • Holly Holm vs. Mayra Bueno Silva
  • Albert Duraev vs. Junyong Park
  • Chelsea Chandler vs. Norma Dumont
  • Ottman Azaitar vs. Francisco Prado
  • Terrance McKinney vs. Nazim Sadykhov
  • Melsik Baghdasaryan vs. Tucker Lutz
  • Viktoriya Dudakova vs. Istela Nunes
  • Melquizael Costa vs. Austin Lingo
  • Bassil Hafez vs. Jack Della Maddalena
  • Evan Elder vs. Genaro Valdez
  • Azat Maksum vs. Tyson Nam
  • Carl Deaton vs. Alexander Munoz
  • Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Ailin Perez

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 49.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (April 24-30)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from April 24-30.

Walt Harris returns against Josh Parisian at July 15 UFC event

UFC heavyweight Walt Harris has been training with Jon Jones in advance of his return to the octagon.

UFC heavyweight [autotag]Walt Harris[/autotag] is set to return after a two-year layoff.

Harris (13-10 MMA, 6-8 UFC) meets [autotag]Josh Parisian[/autotag] (15-6 MMA, 2-3 UFC) at a UFC event on July 15. Two people with knowledge of the booking recently informed MMA Junkie of the matchup but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Eurosport NL was first to report the news.

Harris, who’s been training with UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, will look to snap a three-fight skid. The 39-year-old was stopped in his past three outings by Alistair Overeem, Alexander Volkov, and most recently Marcin Tybura in June 2021. Harris’ last win was a 12-second knockout of Aleksei Oleinik in July 2019.

Parisian has split his past six appearances. The 33-year-old, who punched his ticket to the UFC through Dana White’s Contender Series in August 2020, is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Jamal Pogues in February. Prior to that, Parisian scored a Performance of the Night TKO of Alan Baudot at UFC on ESPN 38.

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With the addition, the July 15 lineup includes:

  • Walt Harris vs. Josh Parisian
  • Azat Maksum vs. Tyson Nam

Aniah Blanchard murder suspect Ibraheem Yazeed indicted on three capital charges, could face death penalty

The man suspected of murdering UFC heavyweight Walt Harris’ stepdaughter, Aniah Blanchard, could be sentenced to death if convicted.

Ibraheem Yazeed, the man accused of murdering Aniah Blanchard, stepdaughter of UFC heavyweight [autotag]Walt Harris[/autotag], has been charged with three counts of capital murder.

The office of Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the three-count indictment nearly three years to the day that Blanchard’s body was found in Macon County.

Yazeed could face the death penalty or life without parole should he be convicted of any of the three charges – first-degree kidnapping, first-degree murder during robbery, and first-degree murder involving a vehicle.

“The indictment charges Yazeed did intentionally cause the death of Blanchard by shooting her with a gun during the course of abducting her and robbing her of a vehicle and cell phone,” the attorney general’s office said in a written release. “The indictment also charges Yazeed intentionally caused Blanchard’s death while she was inside her vehicle, a 2017 Honda CR-V.”

The attorney general’s office did not release any further details. Since his arrest in November 2019, Yazeed has been held in Lee County jail without bail.

Just prior to Yazeed’s arrest, Blanchard was reported missing on Oct. 24. The MMA community heavily rallied around the efforts in support of Harris. A month’s long search ended with her body found in a wooded area on Nov. 25. Blanchard, a college student, was 19 at the time of her death.

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The local district attorney’s office alleges Yazeed kidnapped Blanchard in her own car outside of a gas staton. A second gas station’s surveillance camera captured Yazeed as he got out of the passenger side door of Blanchard’s car, then returned.

According to court documents, an unidentified person informed police Yazeed admitted to the murder and said Blanchard “went for the gun.” At the time of his arrest, Yazeed was out on bail for other charges of attempted murder, kidnapping, robbery, and possession of marijuana.

Eight months after his arrest, Yazeed was charged with another murder, the 2018 cold case killing of 29-year-old Stephen Hamby.

After their daughter’s death, Harris and wife Angela Haley-Harris kickstarted with lawmakers an amendment proposal called “Aniah’s Law.” The amendment added charges for which suspects ca not be bailed out.

On Nov. 8, Alabama voters passed the amendment into law with 80 percent supporting.

“Thank you Alabama!!” Haley-Harris wrote on Facebook after the amendment passed. “And congrats you just changed our state for the better!! I am so emotional for so many reasons!! It’s hard to explain how I feel right now!!! Hopefully I will have my thoughts together in the morning! But for now!! Effective immediately!!”

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MMA Junkie’s 2021 Gym of the Year: Xtreme Couture

Xtreme Couture took home two UFC titles and a host of other major promotion wins.

Xtreme Couture is MMA Junkie’s 2021 Gym of the Year.

In a year filled with ups and downs for the majority of high-profile MMA gyms, Xtreme Couture quietly built up a strong 2021 resume with two UFC titles and assisting numerous other fighters to go undefeated over the 12-month stretch.

Heavyweight [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] and bantamweight [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] both captured UFC titles in 2021 with lead-up preparation at Xtreme Couture.

[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] emerged as a top middleweight contender with back-to-back wins over Krzysztof Jotko and Uriah Hall, and [autotag]Casey O’Neill[/autotag] skyrocketed up the women’s flyweight rankings with three straight victories. In addition, [autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag] won MMA Junkie’s 2021 Comeback Fighter of the Year for his improbable 6-0 run including two wins in the UFC.

In Bellator, top contenders [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] and [autotag]Mads Burnell[/autotag] called Xtreme Couture their training home and each went 2-0 in the calendar year with wins against some of the promotion’s finest.

Other notable fighters include [autotag]Miesha Tate[/autotag], [autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag], [autotag]Brad Tavares[/autotag], [autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag], [autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag], [autotag]Walt Harris[/autotag], [autotag]Cheyanne Buys[/autotag], [autotag]Kai Kamaka III[/autotag], [autotag]Julian Erosa[/autotag], [autotag]Jeremy Kennedy[/autotag], [autotag]Tim Johnson[/autotag], [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag], [autotag]Roman Dolize[/autotag], [autotag]Gustavo Lopez[/autotag], [autotag]Dalcha Lungiambula[/autotag], [autotag]Puna Soriano[/autotag], [autotag]Cynthia Calvillo[/autotag], and more.

Headed by coach Eric Nicksick, the staff also includes Eddie Barraco, Jimmy Gifford, Jake Shields, Dennis Davis, Roman Isabell, Rich Castro, Chad Lyman, Bryce Harley, Montel Williams, Jamie Huey, Nate Pettit, Tim Lane, Danny Davis, Gil Guardado, Ryan Couture, Clinton Treadway and more, as well as team captains Randy Couture and Ray Sefo (according to the gym’s official website).

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (July 26-Aug. 1)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from July 26-Aug. 1:

Walt Harris vs. Tai Tuivasa added to UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi

Put down the shooey, a heavyweight battle is headed to “Fight Island.”

Put down the shooey, a heavyweight battle is headed to “Fight Island.”

Former promotional headliners [autotag]Walt Harris[/autotag] and [autotag]Tai Tuivasa[/autotag] will collide on Oct. 30 at UFC 267, which is expected to take place on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup informed MMA Junkie on the booking Tuesday but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

On the heels of three consecutive losses to Alistair Overeem, Alexander Volkov, and Marcin Tybura, Alabama’s Harris (13-10 MMA, 6-8 UFC) will look to snap his losing skid and get back in the win column for the first time since 2019.

UFC 267 marks a relatively quick turnaround for Tuivasa (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC), who, on July 10, defeated Greg Hardy via first-round TKO. The finish victory was his third in as many outings.

Viewing details for UFC 267 have not been finalized, though MMA Junkie has learned the promotion is leaning toward making the numbered event free to watch for fans in the United States on ABC, ESPN, ESPN+, or some combination of the networks.

With the addition, the UFC 267 lineup now includes:

  • Champ Jan Blachowicz vs. Glover Teixeira – for light heavyweight title
  • Virna Jandiroba vs. Amanda Ribas
  • Khamzat Chimaev vs. Li Jingliang
  • Shamil Gamzatov vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
  • Walt Harris vs. Tai Tuivasa

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Marcin Tybura shifts to UFC Fight Night on June 5, will face Walt Harris

Marcin Tybura will draw a higher-ranked opponent when he takes on Walt Harris at UFC Fight Night on June 5.

After losing out on his initial opponent, [autotag]Marcin Tybura[/autotag] will draw a higher-ranked fighter.

With Blagoy Ivanov forced to withdraw from UFC 260 on March 27 due to an undisclosed injury, Tybura (21-6 MMA, 8-5 UFC) will now face [autotag]Walt Harris[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night on June 5.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. MMA Fighting was first to report the news.

The winner of his past four in a row, Tybura capped off an incredible 2020 by scoring a “Performance of the Night” finish of former NFL star Greg Hardy in December. Prior to that, the Polish fighter notched decision wins over Sergey Spivak, Maxim Grishin, and Ben Rothwell.

After running through both Sergey Spivak and Aleksei Oleinik in less than a minute, Harris dropped back-to-back stoppage losses to Alistair Overeem and most recently Alexander Volkov at UFC 254 in October.

With the addition, the current lineup for UFC Fight Night on June 5 includes:

  • Manon Fiorot vs. Maryna Moroz
  • Walt Harris vs. Marcin Tybura

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