Ryan Garcia tests positive for banned substance in Devin Haney fight, Garcia responds

Ryan Garcia’s saga with Devin Haney is not over.

Garcia tested positive for the banned substance ostarine in two drug tests with the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) in relation to his April 20 bout against Haney. Veteran boxing reporter Dan Rafael first broke the news on Wednesday. Garcia tested positive in a pre-fight urine test on April 19 as well as a post-fight urine test on April 20.

Garcia also “screened positive but was not confirmed” for 19-Norandrosterone — a metabolite of nandrolone and bolandione — in his April 19 sample, which is pending further analysis via Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS).

Ostarine is a banned selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) that has been commonly linked to several tainted supplement cases in the past.

Garcia, 25, defeated Haney in a shockingly thorough bout, knocking down the WBC champ three times en route to a majority decision win. Garcia responded to the news on Wednesday by vigorously denying any performance-enhancing drug use.

“Fake f*cking news,” Garcia said on X Spaces. “Don’t believe these f*ckers, bro. I never f*cking took a steroid in my f*cking life. ... If they had this information, they should’ve released this before the fight went down. Because why would you let a cheater step into the ring? Right? All of a sudden I win and then you release it? Seems kind of fishy to me. I know in my heart of hearts I didn’t cheat, so I’m gonna keep trolling this shit. This shit is f*cking hilarious. At the end of the day, I’m definitely innocent.

“They’re cheating by trying to take my victory. F*ck them. F*ck these motherf*ckers. Tell them to suck my d*ck. I beat Devin Haney fair and square. You can suck my d*ck. All you motherf*ckers that say I cheated, you guys can all suck my d*ck. I didn’t f*cking cheat a day in my life. Never have, never f*cking will. I don’t move like that. Facts.”

Garcia also posted a video maintaining his innocence as well as a photo of “Ashwagandha root” with the message, “My bad I shouldn’t have took this.”

Several of Garcia’s posts can be seen below.

Garcia has a 10-day window to request a testing of his B samples.

It is currently unknown how Wednesday’s news will effect the result of Garcia vs. Haney, however Garcia could be subject to a fine as well as a suspension, and his victory could be overturned into a no-contest.

MMA Fighting will continue to update this story as it develops.