UFC fighter Cortney Casey has accepted a four-month sanction due to her use of the banned substance BPC-157, an experimental peptide not yet approved for use. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced the sanction on Thursday, stating that Casey will be eligible to fight again on October 1.
Casey’s Use of BPC-157
BPC-157 is linked to the potential treatment of various gastrointestinal diseases and is rumored to have additional benefits, such as improving injury recovery time or healing torn muscles and tendons. Casey informed USADA that she had taken the substance after learning it was not permitted. She claimed it was prescribed by a doctor to help treat an unspecified medical issue. Since Casey did not test positive for the substance and was cooperative and forthcoming about taking it, USADA determined a four-month ban from competition would be suitable to let it completely leave her system.
USADA’s Statement and Casey’s Suspension
The full statement from USADA reads: “USADA announced today that Cortney Casey, of Glendale, Ariz., has accepted a four-month sanction for a violation of the UFC® Anti-Doping Policy. Casey, 36, self-reported the use of a prohibited substance, BPC-157, to the UFC on June 21, 2023. BPC-157 is a Specified Substance in the class of Non-Approved Substances and is prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and UFC Prohibited List. Casey immediately provided documentation confirming that she was prescribed and provided BPC-157 by a doctor to help treat a medical condition. After using the substance for a short period of time, she learned that BPC-157 is a prohibited substance and came forward about her use to the UFC. A Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) was not applicable to this Non-Approved Substance. Casey was eligible for a reduction to the period of ineligibility based on her forthright declaration and for her Full and Complete Cooperation. Casey’s four-month period of ineligibility began on June 1, 2023, the approximate date that she last used the prohibited substance.”
Casey, a longtime veteran with an even professional record of 10 wins and 10 defeats, has been with the UFC promotion since 2015. The Arizona native last set foot in the Octagon in July 2022, where she dropped a razor-close split decision to Antonina Shevchenko. Casey has yet to string together consecutive wins since she stopped Cristina Stanciu and Randa Markos in back-to-back outings in 2016. Throughout her career, she has notched wins over names like Angela Hill, Jessica Aguilar, and Tomo Maesawa.