UFC rescinds doping suspension of fighter Cung Le

Cung Le, the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight fighter suspended one year when the organization declared a post-fight sample he submitted in China in August revealed excessive levels of human growth hormone, has been reinstated with the suspension rescinded, the UFC announced Tuesday.

“I haven’t read everything yet,” Le said by telephone from his San Jose home. “My manager was taking care of this. ... I want to make sure it’s true.”

Le, 42, previously insisted to the Los Angeles Times that he did not engage in performance-enhancing drug use before the fight. His opponent, Michael Bisping, requested full screening after Le posed for a photo during training, revealing a ripped physique.

Le told The Times earlier this month that his physique for the main event bout in Macao, China, was enhanced by more than 18 months of hard work and diet, not drugs.

“I’d been grumpy and moody, but every time I’d look in the mirror I’d see results,” Le said. “I did this crazy cardio, was in great shape. Then a professional photographer takes this picture of me in perfect lighting and I was ripped, I was so proud. It got posted, I reposted it, then Michael Bisping says, ‘Oh, Cung’s on something,’ and comes out asking for testing and [UFC President] Dana [White] says OK.”

Noted anti-doping expert Don Catlin said days following the UFC suspension of Le that the result should be “ignored,” for a variety of reasons, including that the test did not occur inside a World Anti-Doping Agency-approved lab.

Le and his supporters also detailed to The Times that the test was performed sloppily and given shortly after his fourth-round technical knockout loss to Bisping, in which he was bleeding profusely and still exhausted due to the action of the fight. Le claimed that anxiety led to his elevated HGH level.

In a statement Tuesday, the UFC said: “Following the announcement of Le’s suspension, UFC officials have been provided with medical advice regarding the elevated total [of] HGH present in Le’s system. In accordance with such medical advice, UFC has determined that Le’s elevated total HGH by itself does not prove that he took performance-enhancing drugs before the August 23rd bout. As a result, UFC has informed Le that his suspension is rescinded.”

“Le had requested an appeal of his suspension, and was entitled to arbitrate the drug test results and suspension. However, based on the lack of conclusive laboratory results, UFC officials deemed it appropriate to immediately rescind the suspension without the need for further proceedings.”

A UFC spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for more information, including who provided the medical advice that overturned the suspension.

The UFC announced in August that it was in negotiations with testing agencies such as the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to establish a more unilateral policy. The company’s inexact standards were previously alluded to by former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre as a reason he relinquished his belt and took an extended hiatus.

Le said following his suspension: “The test result was high, but it was sent to a lab that was not WADA approved ... and there was one in Beijing. Why not send it there? They want to save $500? And use me as an example of them taking [testing] to the next level?

“I wouldn’t put it past them.”

Twitter: @latimespugmire