2022 PFL Light Heavyweight Champion Rob Wilkinson was the finalist of 10 fighters revealed to have failed drug tests in Nevada earlier this year.
Wilkinson, who picked up a win over Thiago Santos in NBA 1 in April, was handed his sentence by the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Tuesday — and will sit out nine months, while paying a fine of just over $8,000 per report of MMA junkie.
Now, Wilkinson has opened up about the scandal, admitting he was “very disappointed in myself” after a drug test found a high t/e due to his testosterone’s androgynous origin.
Read Wilkinson’s full statement below.
First, I want to thank you for your support during my career and I want to give all of you an explanation for not being in the 2023 PFL season.
After my last fight on April 1st, I failed a competition drug test, which resulted in me being suspended for the remainder of the 2023 PFL season.
I was going to keep thinking of all the reasons I went down this path, but no matter what those reasons are, I am deeply disappointed in myself. I want to stress that I sincerely take full responsibility for the choices I have made and the consequences.
To my family, friends, team, fans and the PFL, I let you down and for that I am sorry. All I can do now is learn and grow from my mistakes, as I always tried to do. I will take this time to improve my mentality and skill set and I will come back better than ever. Through every setback, is an opportunity to come back stronger.
To all of those who have reached out and shown unwavering support during this difficult time, I want to express my sincere gratitude to all of you. I really appreciate each and every one of you.
Wilkinson, a former UFC middleweight who shared the cage with Israel Adesanya prior to his release through that promotion, defeated Omari Akhmedov for the 2022 PFL Championship to win the title and the million dollar prize. Coincidentally, his win over Santos, now a no-contest, came against one of nine other fighters who failed drug tests in April.
Santos, for his part, was suspended for six months.