Ivan Shtyrkov has been handed a two year USADA ban just two weeks before he is booked to appear at Rizin 17. The undefeated Russian light heavyweight had already been released by the UFC in anticipation of this announcement.
A report in MMA Fighting carried the following quotes from USADA,
“Shtyrkov had two out of competition urine samples reported as atypical shortly before he was scheduled to compete in a UFC bout. USADA notified the UFC of the laboratory’s initial atypical findings and the UFC removed Shtyrkov from the card in which he was scheduled to compete. After conducting additional analysis, the laboratory reported both Shtyrkov’s samples as positive for boldenone and its metabolite.”
Shtyrkov will not be allowed to compete in the U.S again until March 27th, 2021. However his fight with Hoon Kim at Rizin 17 on July 28th does not appear to be in jeopardy, as the Japanese promotion would have been aware of the impending ban when the fight was booked.
As previously announced Tatsuya Kawajiri faces Ali Abdulkhalikov in a lightweight bout at the Saitama Super Arena on July 28th. Meanwhile Satoru Kitaoka has been matched with Johnny Case in the same division.
The card will also feature Ulka Sasaki, Shintaro Ishiwatari, Yuki Motoya, Hiromasa Ogikubo, Mikuru Asakura, Yusuke Yachi, Vitaly Shemetov, Jake Heun, Ham Seo-Hee, Mizuke Hirota, Ivan Shtyrkov and Taiga Kawabe.
Rizin 17, Tokyo, July 28th
Ulka Sasaki vs. Shintaro Ishiwatari (Bantamweight)
Yuki Motoya vs. Hiromasa Ogikubo (Bantamweight)
Yusuke Yachi vs. Mikuru Asakura (Lightweight)
Jake Heun vs. Vitaly Shemetov (Heavyweight)
Reina Miura vs. Stephanie Egger (Catchweight)
Ivan Shtyrkov vs. Hoon Kim (Light Heavyweight)
Ham Seo Hee vs. Tomo Maesawa (Super Atomweight)
Mizuke Hirota vs. Roberto de Souza (Lightweight)
Satoru Kitaoka vs. Johnny Case (Lightweight)
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Ali Abdulkhalikov (Lightweight)
Kickboxing: Kevin Ross vs. Daiki Watabe (Featherweight)
Kickboxing: Taiga Kawabe vs. Hikaru Machida (Bantamweight)
