Two years ago, Tom Lawlor was suspended for a failed USADA drug test, where the veteran tested positive for Ostarine. With only two months remaining in his suspension, Lawlor was then released for the UFC after nearly a decade of being signed with the promotion. Lawlor has no complaints about the release, however, and is specifically glad to be severing his ties with another entity that has been involved in his career:
“I am, however, happy to be out of the USADA testing pool,” Lawlor told Luke Thomas on Monday’s episode of the MMA Hour. “I don’t have to let them know where I am at all times and wonder about that. Those of you who [know of] Josh Barnett’s situation or kept abreast of that can kind of understand that not everything is fair when it comes to USADA and the UFC.”
But how about that timing? Why would the veteran be released now?
“I think it was a combination of [the UFC] getting rid of guys and my age and having not fought in years,” Lawlor surmised. “It’s unfortunate that the UFC has become such a large company that they don’t look at things on an individual basis, but that’s part of the game I guess, and part of the entertainment business. I just kind of have to take it and roll with it as it goes.”
There was an element of surprise behind the release, however, because being released from the UFC was originally Lawlor’s idea quite some time ago:
“I was kind of shocked as I had asked previously for my release when I was given my USADA suspension, and believe me when I tell you that I did not intend to ingest any sort of ostarine or any performance-enhancing drug,” Lawlor said. “I’m all-natural, and I’ve been tested many times since then and passed all of them.”
Do you believe the UFC should have released Tom Lawlor?
