USADA announced today that Raphael Pessoa Nunes, of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has accepted a one-year sanction for a violation of the UFC^® Anti-Doping Policy. Pessoa Nunes, 31, tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) and its metabolites chlorothiazide and 4-amino-6-chloro-1,3-benzenedisulfonamide (ACB) as the result of a sample collected out-of-competition on March 4, 2020.

HCTZ is a Specified Substance in the class of Diuretics and Masking Agents and is prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and UFC Prohibited List. The reporting of the sample was delayed by laboratory closures due to COVID-19. Pessoa Nunes’ one-year period of ineligibility began on March 4, 2020, the date his positive sample was collected.

• This media release was published by the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) and the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) on 23 November 2020. Click here for the original.