Thiago Santos and Three Other PFL Fighters Suspended after Positive PED Tests

Professional Fighters League’s 2023 season
appears in danger of losing several of its top contenders and
biggest names.

On Tuesday,
MMA Fighting reported that Thiago
Santos, Krzysztof
Jotko, Bruno
Cappelozza and Rizvan
Kuniev had tested positive for undisclosed banned substances
after their fights in the PFL light heavyweight and heavyweight
divisions. The fighters have been temporarily suspended by the
Nevada State Athletic Commission pending full hearings in the next
few days.

The The
promotion addressed the situation in a statement that
acknowledged the suspensions and announced significant changes to
the 2023 Regular Season without mentioning names.

“PFL has been notified by the Nevada State Athletic Commission that
several fighters who competed in two PFL 2023 Regular Season events
this past April have been temporarily suspended until further
review by the Commission. The PFL has a zero-tolerance policy
related to the usage of banned substances and complies with U.S.
State Athletic Commission requirements. Further, as the PFL moves
towards the highest level of testing and compliance in the sport,
PFL is engaged with USADA on the implementation of its athlete
anti-doping program. This Friday PFL will release final fight cards
for the second half of the 2023 PFL Regular Season, including
alternative fighters, matchups, league standings, and point system
update.”

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship 205-pound title
challenger Santos (22-12, 0-1 PFL) is currently scheduled expected
to clash with Mohammad
Fakhreddine at PFL 4 on June 8. In his PFL debut, the Brazilian
dropped a unanimous decision to returning titleholder and fellow
UFC veteran Rob
Wilkinson. The latest victory by “Marreta” dates back to
October 2021, when he upended Johnny
Walker by unanimous decision. That win snapped a three-bout
skid and was followed by three more consecutive losses.

Jotko (24-7, 0-1 PFL) was edged out by Will Fleury
in a narrow split decision at 2023 PFL 1 and had been attached to a
clash with Ty Flores. In
their first outings of the season, 2021 heavyweight champion
Cappelozza stopped Matheus
Scheffel with punches in the first round while Kuniev (12-2-1,
1-0 PFL) defeated Renan
Ferreira by unanimous decision. Cappelozza and Kuniev have no
assignments at the moment of writing, as PFL had not yet announced
the next round of heavyweight matchups when the reports surfaced.