The UFC is defending the results of a drug test it performed on middleweight Cung Le, who failed due to human growth hormone and was subsequently suspended one year.

“We stand by the results and subsequent suspension,” a UFC official told MMAjunkie. “We have no further comment.”

Michael Bisping (25-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC) battered Le (9-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) en route to a fourth-round TKO in the headliner of August’s UFC Fight Night 48 event. Le, a former Strikeforce champion who returned from a two-year layoff, was first benched for nine months. The promotion then extended his suspension to one year after “an error was discovered” in its internal process.

In a statement this past week, Le called into question the UFC’s testing procedures after his failed test and said his doctors were looking into the possibility of a serious health concern related to elevated HGH.

In his statement, Le, who was the subject of much pre-fight speculation because of a clearly improved physique, said he was told he passed his pre- and post-fight drug test “as well as the majority of the blood tests.” He said he was tested twice via urine and with a blood test “collected both before and after my fight.”

Le’s manager, Gary Ibarra, said the promotion was “irresponsible” when it didn’t use a WADA-approved lab despite one being available nearby. The event, which was regulated by the UFC, took place in Macau, a short flight from Beijing, which has a WADA-accredited lab. Ibarra also cited WADA procedures he said were not followed, including the use of a test (IGF-1) that the regulatory body requires when testing for HGH.

Ibarra said when he asked to retest Le’s sample, the promotion informed him it was destroyed, which also contradicted WADA rules that require a sample to be frozen.

In response to an email to UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner about the procedures used for Le’s test, the UFC official wrote the following to MMAjunkie: “On the night of Aug. 23, 2014, immediately following the bout between Michael Bisping and Cung Le in Macao, a phlebotomist hired from the Mayo Clinic collected blood samples from both fighters. The blood samples were shipped to the Hong Kong Functional Medicine Testing Center for analysis.”

The official offered no further details on the testing or a timeline of how long it took the sample to get to the laboratory. Regulatory bodies that drug test prepare “chain of custody” documents to support findings in the event they are questioned. It’s unclear whether the UFC did the same.

Since there is no formal appeal process for drug test positives in the UFC, Le’s suspension will stand.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 48, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

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