UFC middleweight Dennis Branch is yet another name on the continuously growing USADA flagged list. It was announced via the official website of the anti doping agency that he tested positive for the substance Ipamorelin in an out of competition sample taken in May. The substance significantly increases growth hormone levels which is a big no-no as athletes surely have to know. He was suspended for two years
Here’s the statement released to the public:
USADA announced today that David Branch, of Montville, N.J., has received a two-year sanction for a violation of the UFC® Anti-Doping Policy after testing positive for a prohibited substance.
Branch, 37, tested positive for ipamorelin as the result of a urine sample he provided out-of-competition on May 24, 2019. Ipamorelin is in the class of Peptide Hormones, Growth Factors, Related Substances, and Mimetics and prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, which has adopted the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List.
Ipamorelin is a potent Growth Hormone Secretagogue that stimulates the brain to release human growth hormone and is used by athletes as a performance-enhancing drug. The use of prohibited peptides by athletes and consumers for performance or physique enhancement purposes (including recovery from injury) poses serious health risks, and these peptides are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for human use or consumption.
Branch’s two-year period of ineligibility, the standard sanction for a non-Specified Substance under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, began on July 26, 2019, the date his provisional suspension was imposed.
It still amazes us that fighters would risk their careers like this.