Defending LHW Champ Rob Wilkinson Out of 2023 PFL Season After Failed Drug Test

The 2023 Professional Fighters League campaign will have to move on
without defending light heavyweight champion Rob
Wilkinson.

Wilkinson has failed a drug test following his victory over
Thiago
Santos at PFL 1 and has been pulled from a scheduled clash
against Ty
Flores at PFL 4 on June 8. Wilkinson will also miss the rest of
the PFL season due to a pending suspension.
MMA Mania was first to report Wilkinson’s failed drug test. The
substance for which Wilkinson tested positive has not been
revealed.

As a result, Flores will now face Dan Spohn at
PFL 4, which takes place at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta.
Wilkinson vs. Flores was slated to be the card’s co-main event.

Wilkinson is just the latest — and perhaps most prominent — PFL
athlete to fail a drug test following the league’s first three
events. Nine fighters, including Santos, have either been
fined and suspended or are facing sanctions from the Nevada
Athletic Commission after testing positive for a number of banned
substances.

A two-time UFC veteran, Wilkinson enjoyed a breakthrough in 2022,
besting four PFL opponents via knockout or technical knockout to
capture the organization’s 205-pound championship and the $1
million prize that accompanies it. His unanimous decision triumph
against Santos was his seventh straight victory since parting ways
with the UFC in 2018.