Gustavo 'Ninja' Cannetti returns to the UFC octagon
Argentinian fighter Guido 'Ninja' Cannetti will return to the UFC octagon for the first time in two and a half years after a long battle to prove his innocence in a doping case. He will face South Korean fighter Kyung Ho Kang on Sunday in the first UFC event of 2018, which will take place at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
"I always said that I hadn't done anything wrong and I trusted that everything would be resolved and I would move forward. It was very tough financially, especially considering the current state of the country. I had already spent the money I had saved on training and it was tough not being able to earn the purse of that fight. Today, what happened is just a story and all of that was a learning experience that made me stronger," Cannetti said in a phone interview with Télam from California, United States.
The "Ninja", the third Argentinian fighter to enter the world's most famous cage, following Alex Schoenauer and Santiago Ponzinibbio, was part of the UFC talent development program and took part in the first edition of The Ultimate Fighter Latin America (TUF). He had to move, use his own money and defend his case before the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
"Proving my innocence was very difficult because there was no way to analyze the supplements in the country. I went to ANMAT, INTI, the Faculty of Pharmacology and Toxicology, and it was impossible to analyze them because they didn't have the necessary machines for that kind of analysis," he said, describing the beginning of his year-long ordeal.
The 38-year-old fighter from Mar del Plata made his debut at UFC 180 in November 2014, where he won the Fight of the Night bonus despite losing to Mexican fighter Henry Briones. He achieved his first victory at UFC 190 in August 2015, defeating Brazilian fighter Hugo Viana by unanimous decision.
In November 2016, he was scheduled to fight Mexican fighter Marco Beltrán in Mexico, but two weeks before the fight, Cannetti tested positive for ostarine, hydrochlorothiazide, chlorothiazide, and stanozolol metabolites, and was provisionally suspended.
"I sent an email to UFC explaining everything and asking them if they could conduct the analysis themselves because I wanted to prove my innocence. When I tried to send the supplements through a company that handles those things, they told me they wouldn't pass the Customs in the US. Traveling alone to bring the supplements was a huge financial expense for me, but luckily a student from the gym who is a flight attendant for an airline brought me the supplements," he continued.
"It took them a month to tell me that the supplements were contaminated, but I had to wait two more months because the USADA subjected me, the supplement company, and the company owner to an investigation. Fortunately, it was proven that I was innocent," he said in relief.
On Sunday, Cannetti will return to action against Kyung Ho Kang, who had to temporarily pause his career to fulfill the mandatory two-year military service that men have to do in South Korea, his home country.
"My opponent is very good. He is tall and has long arms. He is very skilled in jiu jitsu and grappling, so I've been preparing well in those areas at team Alpha Male," highlighted the fighter, who trained at the gym in Sacramento led by American fighter Urijah Faber, an MMA legend.
"I hope to bring the victory to Argentina in order to contribute to the growth of the sport in the country. This is the definitive breakthrough moment for UFC's arrival in our country. If I win on Sunday, I will take a big leap in my career and my chances of being among the top ten in the world will increase," he concluded.