UFC Fighter Yoel Romero Wins $27 Million in Tainted Supplement Lawsuit

Yoel Romero was suspended by the USADA for six months in 2016 after testing positive for a banned substance.

UFC fighter Yoel Romero was awarded $27.45 million by a New Jersey civil court on Wednesday after winning a lawsuit against Gold Star Performance Products, Romero's agent, Abraham Kawa, announced.

Romero (13–3 MMA, 9–2 UFC) sued the company in January 2018 after he received a six-month suspension from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency following a failed drug test in 2016. The court determined the company made a tainted supplement that resulted in Romero's suspension.

"God is always good," Romero wrote on Twitter after the news broke.

God is always good #iseeyousoonboi thank you @Abraham_kawa @FirstRoundMgmt @malkikawa @athleteslawyer #iluhju

— Peoples Champ (@YoelRomeroMMA) May 28, 2019

Kawa disclosed the amount awarded to Romero in his own post.

"He looked me in the eyes and said "Ibra! I don't do nothing!" I told him I'd fight with him all the way through. Today we won and we won big, sure $27.45mil is a lot of money and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't. That was not what we expected going into this thing but as I told @yoelromeromma after, God is always good and always on time! So we stopped and he got himself a watch before we headed back home #frm"

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A post shared by Ibrahim Kawa (@abrahamkawa)

Kawa and Romero's lawyer, Howard Jacobs, told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani that the UFC middleweight fighter was awarded $3 million each for lost wages, reputable harm and emotional damages. All of that was tripled because of New Jersey's "Consumer Fraud Act."

Romero, 42, was informed by USADA that he tested positive for the banned substance Ibutamoren in February 2016. Romero immediately claimed innocence and pointed to a contaminated supplement as a possible cause but the USADA confirmed that the supplement was provided to them and the presence of Ibutamoren and suspended Romero for six months. Romero returned to the octagon in November 2016 when he beat Chris Weidman in November 2016 and then lost his shot at the interim title in July 2017 in a fight against Robert Whitaker. 

Romero's next bout is against Paulo Costa at UFC 242 on Aug. 17.