The following statement comprises the official response of Team Menshikov to these allegations, following advice from from their legal team in Lausanne, Switzerland.
ONE FC recently declared Dmitry Menshikov to have failed a doping test administered after his ONE Friday Fights 97 bout with Tengnueng on February 14th in Bangkok.
ONE declared Menshikov to have provided positive sample results for prohibited substances fonturacetam and furosemide.
ONE claimed that these substances are prohibited in ONE competitions due to ONE using the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) international standard prohibited list.
ONE stated that Menshikov would now be subjected to a six-month suspension from competition.
FORMAL STATEMENT FROM TEAM MENSHIKOV
Dmitry categorically denies any intentional use of prohibited substances. He has only taken medications prescribed by his doctor, none of which contained prohibited substances. He is extremely cautious, even trying to limit his use of sports supplements to well-known, reputable brands.
However, given the widespread issue of supplement contamination, it is impossible to completely rule out the possibility of unintentional ingestion. Studies and past cases show that contaminated supplements remain a significant problem in anti-doping.
The anti-doping program run by ONE Championship is not WADA-compliant. Their policies do not align with the standards set by WADA or any other signatories of the World Anti-Doping Code. The decision in Dmitry’s case applies solely to ONE’s competitions and has no bearing outside of this organization.
Due to ONE’s opaque and fundamentally unfair decision-making and appeals process – one that fails to meet the basic principles of a fair hearing – there is no point in challenging their ruling. Their system lacks transparency and credibility, which means an appeal would be futile.
COMMENTS FROM DMITRY MENSHIKOV
“Throughout my career I have never once failed a doping test nor had allegations of doping levelled against me. In addition to being shocked and saddened by these allegations, I am also struck by the remarkable coincidence of them occurring so soon after my public statements of intent to depart the ONE roster due to their inability to provide me with bouts.
“My team retained the services of lawyers in Switzerland who specialise in this area and work with many Olympic bodies who are based in Laussane. Having completed their own investigations, their advice to me is that ONE has numerous problematic aspects to its testing procedures – including lack of transparency and not being WADA-compliant – and that an appeal would be a waste of my time and money. They also advised me that this so-called ‘suspension’ is entirely restricted to ONE as a promotion and has no bearing outside of that.
“And so I will move on from ONE unfortunately with a sour taste in my mouth, but I want to reassure fight fans around the world that I do not, did not and will not engage in the use of performance enhancing substances. I would like to thank my fans for their continued support. I value it highly and I look forward to entertaining them again in the very near future.”
