Former UFC title challenger Tera Santos was slapped on a six-month suspension.
After a relatively successful run in the octagon, seeing her limit Valentina Shevchenko and narrowly abandoning her decision to split into the dominant flyweight queen, Santos moved to the PFL.
Last year, she fought through a promotional 125-pound tournament, beating Irala Joan, Yena Bishop and Liz Kalmouche before adding starch to the final tournament winner Dakota Diccheva.
Santos was expected to be part of this year’s PFL flyweight world tournament, but that’s not the case, according to the US anti-doping agency.
“Santos tested positive for oxandrolone and its metabolites and tested positive for clenbuterol as a result of an out-of-competitive sample collected on March 21, 2025,” USADA wrote on its website. “The period of ineligibility for use of prohibited substances is six months. The six months of Santos qualification began on March 21, 2025. The date when her positive sample was collected.
Oxandrolone and clenbuterol are listed in the class of anabolic drugs.
Ex-UFC Star is eligible to compete again in 2025
Before fighting Shevchenko, Santos scored notable victories on Molly McCann, Gillian Robertson, Roxanne Modafeli and Joanne Wood. Overall, the Brazilian is 22-4 in her mixed martial arts career
Santos is eligible to compete again on September 21, 2025.