PFL heavyweight and ex-UFC fighter Blagoy Ivanov wonât be allowed to compete again until 2026 after he was suspended 22 months by USADA for a failed drug test.
USADA officials announced the suspension on Wednesday as a violation of PFLâs anti-doping policy for fighters.
âIvanov, 37, tested positive for an anabolic agent as the result of an out-of-competition sample collected on March 28, 2024,â USADA official stated. âHis urine sample was analyzed using a specialized test that differentiates between anabolic androgenic steroids naturally produced by the body and prohibited anabolic agents of external origin.
âIvanov received a reduction to the default period of ineligibility for his full and complete cooperation. Ivanovâs 22-month period of ineligibility began on March 28, 2024, the date his positive sample was collected.â
Based on the timeline of his suspension, Ivanov would be eligible to compete again in January 2026.
A 27-fight veteran, Ivanov signed with PFL after the conclusion of his UFC contract in 2023. He made his debut back in April but dropped a decision to Sergei Bilostenniy, which served as his third loss in a row, giving him a 1-5 record in his past six fights overall.
PFL has not addressed if Ivanov will remain on the roster during his suspension.
THIS is Ridiculous. I USUALLY Keep my Grrrrrrrrrrr To Myself , Usually , But this is Egregious
and Im losing any interest Since Coker !!
Almost exactly one year after his most recent appearance in Bellator MMA, Sabah Homasi is still waiting on the company to pay him back for medical bills after injuries sustained in his battle against Levan Chokheli.
Homasi first spoke publicly about the situation on social media in April, writing, âAny fighters that got caught up in the PFL/Bellator merger that have not been reimbursed for surgeries and hospitalization from a fight or is it just me?â
Multiple sources told MMA Fighting that Homasi is still awaiting the full payment on those medical bills, with around $12,000 still owned plus interest out of the $32,000 bill he absorbed in expenses.
PFL has not responded to MMA Fightingâs request for a statement regarding Homasiâs ongoing situation.
âI fractured my orbital. Went from the venue to the hospital so they knew everything that was wrong,â Homasi told MMA Mania back in April. âThey asked me if I was going to do surgery in Ireland and I said, âNo. Iâm going to fly home and do surgery with my doctors back home.â
âI came home, we saw my doctor. I have a date for surgery, right? Next thing you know, they call my doctor and ask him if he can postpone surgery for two [to] three weeks. I said, âAbsolutely not. I have to go and operate.ââ
When addressing the situation after Homasi went public with the medical bills that remain unpaid, PFL co-owner Donn Davis stated that responsibility fell on Paramount, who owned Bellator prior to selling to PFL in late 2023.
âThat was Paramount not paying,â Davis told the Weighing In podcast. âWe worked to get him paid. All [that] happened before we bought it. Weâre trying to stay low-key because thatâs who we are. Paramount didnât pay. Weâre working to get somebody who owes him to pay him.
âA lot of these fighters and managers donât even understand what they donât understand. Those arenât our bills. Those are the old companyâs bills.â
Things may get even stickier in the near future as Paramount is currently set to be sold to Skydance Media in a massive $8 billion deal for the entertainment company.
In recent years, Paramount has struggled to maintain its grip on the entertainment market after the company was hit hard in the wake of duel strikes from writers and actors that brought production to a halt for several months. Paramountâs streaming service Paramount+ has also failed to gain as much traction as competitors, with 71.2 million users compared to Max from Warner Bros. Discovery with 99.6 million subscribers as of May, with all streamers still playing catch-up to Netflixâs more than 277 million subscribers worldwide.
Sadly, while Paramount found a lifeline with the sale expected to Skydance Global, Homasi is still stuck waiting for payment for his medical bills with no indication on when heâll get reimbursed.
Not a huge loss.
Blagoy is boring as fuck and in his last 10 fights , they all ended in boring ass decisions
Got It ! My point of this thread is the disappoint in the PFL/Bella Merge.
Clown pOOp at this point , hope it changes
Jesus, if thats the body steroids give you, im good. I look in way better shape than that dude and im 90 percent Modelo.
you are one saxy bitch
Blagoy is the most boring heavyweight. His lack of output is poor even for HW standards.
Became a Sambo champ defeating Fedor.
Former WSOF and PFL HW champion.
Holds a win over Big Ben.
The guy went thru hell with that whole getting stabbed up / placed in Coma / almost dying etc.
What a warrior.
He could still go out to Russia and Middle East to compete.
TWO In 2 Weeks