ONE Championship: Martin Batur tests positive for banned substance, suspended for one year
- Croatian heavyweight fails test under World Anti-Doping Agency code, according to a ONE statement
- Batur’s debut TKO victory over Paul Elliott at ONE 160 last month in Singapore is re-ruled a No Contest
Martin Batur has been suspended for one year under ONE Championship’s anti-doping guidelines after testing positive for a banned substance.
The Croatian’s first-round TKO of Britain’s Paul Elliott in their heavyweight MMA bout at ONE 160 on August 26 – on his promotional debut – has been re-ruled a No Contest.
A teammate of countryman and fellow new ONE signing Roberto Soldic, who was in his corner at Singapore Indoor Stadium, 30-year-old Batur was also awarded a US$50,000 performance bonus after the fight.
“[Batur] tested positive for an androgenic anabolic steroid, which is a banned substance according to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA),” ONE said in a statement.
“The sample was collected and processed by International Doping Tests & Management (IDTM). Batur will be subjected to future testing in and out of competition.”
All athletes were informed of the new policy via an internal memo, a copy of which the Post saw. The memo said ONE’s new drug testing partner IDTM – a subsidiary of Drug Free Sport International – would “independently handle all testing for illegal substances”.
Batur (7-3, 1 No Contest) is the first fighter publicly confirmed by ONE to have tested positive for a banned substance under the new system.
ONE: Angela Lee sees Ham title defence next in ‘busy’ 2023
ONE Championship returns to action this week with a double header of events at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
A featherweight Muay Thai title fight between champion Petchmorakot and Tawanchai headlines Thursday night’s ONE 161 card.
Angela Lee will then look to become a two-division title-holder on Saturday morning local time in a trilogy fight against strawweight champion Xiong Jingnan that tops ONE on Prime video 3.
The event will be broadcast in US primetime on Friday night on Amazon’s streaming service, and is available on pay-per-view in most other global markets.
