Sean O’Malley has been dealt another setback and it’s a lingering issue.

O’Malley took to his Instagram account to announce that he has been forced off the UFC 239 card. “Suga” was set to take on Marlon Vera on the ESPN preliminary portion of the event. As plans will be, plans will go awry.

Here’s what O’Malley had to say in his Instagram post:

“I want to share the facts with you about the my latest USADA tests and how it affects my fight next month.

USADA has notified me that ostarine, the substance that showed up in my system last year and led to USADA sanctioning me, has resurfaced at an extremely low level in two recent tests. The good news is that USADA says this is most likely residual from last year and that the low level is providing me with no performance advantage. That’s why USADA is not re-sanctioning me for these test results. I already served a USADA sanction for the presence of ostarine in my system, and it has decreased dramatically since last year.”


O’Malley accepted a sanction from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for ostarine after testing positive last year. His suspension ended in March. No word on whether or not the UFC will look for a replacement opponent for Vera on short notice. UFC 239 takes place on July 6.