UFC fighter wins $27 million in lawsuit over tainted supplement that led to suspension

UFC fighter Yoel Romero has received vindication after nearly having to put his career on hold due to a failed drug test, and that vindication is coming in the form of the biggest payday in the 42-year-old’s career.

Romero was awarded $27.45 million after winning his lawsuit against Gold Star Performance Products, the makers of a tainted supplement that caused Romero to fail a drug test, his manager told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani on the air Tuesday.

How do you get to $27.45 million? Well, Romero was reportedly rewarded $3 million each for lost wages, reputable harm and emotional damage, then had all of that multiple by three because of New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act. Romero will reportedly receive the entire settlement, though he might lose some of it to legal fees.

Romero himself seemed pretty happy online.

That’s a nice win for Romero, who faced a nine-month suspension from the USADA in early 2016 when a drug test indicated a doping violation. Romero stuck to his guns enough to threaten arbitration, which would have meant a two-year suspension had he lost, but that was enough to strike a deal for a shorter six-month suspension.

Even with the lightened penalty, it took Romero 11 months to get back into the Octagon from his last fight in December 2015. Then a middleweight title contender, Romero eventually got his shot against Chris Weidman in November 2016 and won, then lost his shot at the interim title against Robert Whitaker in July 2017.

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