The California State Athletic Commission postponed Josh Barnett’s re-licensure appeals hearing Monday for a third time, reports Sports Illustrated’s Josh Gross. The CSAC denied the heavyweight fighter’s re-licensure in late July after he allegedly produced a positive pre-test for an anabolic steroid.
Michael J. DiMaggio, Barnett’s New York-based attorney, was unable to attend the hearing due to a Northeast blizzard that crippled air travel over the weekend, CSAC Assistant Executive Officer Bill Douglas confirmed with
http://www.Sherdog.com. Barnett’s appeal was granted two previous extensions when the law firm said it still awaited additional information from the UCLA laboratory that conducted Barnett’s tests.
The CSAC notified Barnett on July 21 that he had tested positive for the anabolic steroid 2a-methyl-5a-androstan-3a-ol-17-one in a June 25 pre-test conducted to renew his license for his bout against Fedor Emelianenko at Affliction III on Aug. 1 in Anaheim, Calif. Barnett was pulled from the headlining bout, and the event was canceled a few days later.
Barnett’s second sample was laboratory-tested and came back with the same results on July 29, according to the CSAC.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Barnett, 31, for six months in 2002 due to a post-fight urinalysis that revealed the presence of three anabolic agents (Boldenone metabolite, Fluoxymesterone metabolite and Nandrolone metabolite) in his body when he defeated Randy Couture to win the heavyweight title at UFC 36. Barnett denied using the anabolic steroids and challenged the NSAC’s testing protocol.
