Kirill Sidelnikov

M-1 Global on Wednesday issued a statement discussing their investigation into the positive steroid test of Kirill Sidelnikov at Affliction: Day of Reckoning in January.

According to the release, the investigation found that a nasal spray which was used by “Baby Fedor” that is commonly used in Russia to treat the symptoms of a broken nose caused the failed test.

The complete release can be read below:

M-1 Global officials first learned that Kirill Sidelnikov failed his post-fight screening for performance enhancing drugs when it was informed late last week by the California State Athletic Commission.

Immediately after the company was notified, an internal investigation was launched. As a part of the investigation, M-1 Global officials spoke with Kirill and asked him to explain his position.

In preparation for his Affliction debut against Paul Buentello in January, Kirill spent some time training outside of the Imperial Team family in St. Petersburg. Kirill indicated that during that time away he began to experience complications from a broken nose that he had recently sustained.

Not wanting to miss any training time leading up to “Day of Reckoning,” Kirill followed the advice of a coach not affiliated with M-1 who gave him a nose spray commonly used in Russia to help treat some of his symptoms. It is M-1’s belief that the nose spray is what contained the Stanozol.

For those that are skeptical of this explanation, we believe Kirill’s account is true based in large part to his physique. If he had been using large amounts of Stanozol on a regular basis, we believe that the frame of his upper body would have contained leaner muscle that had more definition.

While we do not believe the use of a nose spray provided Kirill with an unfair competitive advantage, we are obviously very disappointed in his lapse of judgment. Even though it was only a common nose spray that he used to treat an injury, an athlete must take full responsibility for what he puts into his system at all times. While we are not citing youth as an excuse, we feel we need to offer the public an explanation and we attribute the mistake in part to the fact that Kirill is just 20-years of age.

In spite of our disappointment, Kirill remains a part of the M-1 family and as such, he can continue to count on our support through this turbulent period. While we do not endorse his actions, we stand by him.

M-1 takes full responsibility for Kirill’s actions and we respect the decision of the California State Athletic Commission. The organization would also like to make it clear that we do not condone the use of performance enhancing drugs of any kind and we’d like to hereby apologize to the MMA community for Kirill’s indiscretion.

M-1 believes that Kirill is one of the top up-and-coming fighters of the sport and after he has served his punishment and is eligible to return, we hope that the public will give him a second chance to prove himself.

Kiril Sidelnikov

Kiril Sidelnikov, who was defeated by Paul Buentello at Affliction: Day of Reckoning, has tested positive for the banned steroid Stanzanol.

The California State Athleitc Commission, which oversaw the January 24th event in Anaheim, has issued “Baby Fedor” a one year suspension which runs through January 18, 2010 and has also fined Sidelnikov $2,500.

Sidelnikov appeared significantly out of shape for his bout against “The Headhunter” and it showed in the ring, with Buentello thrashing him for two complete rounds before the doctor called an end to the contest late in the third following another dominant frame.

• Affliction heavyweight Aleksander Emelianenko (14-3), the younger brother of WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko, posted a first-round knockout of South Korean Sang Soo Lee (10-5) on Saturday in the main event of M-1 Challenger 9 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Emelianenko earned the victory with a right hook midway through the opening round that dropped Lee to the canvas. In other notable action from the event, PRIDE veteran Gilbert Yvel stopped Alexander Timanov with strikes in the first round and Kiril “Baby Fedor” Sidelnikov defeated Jang Yong Kim via first-round TKO.
• Former WEC light heavyweight champion Doug Marshall successfully made his middleweight debut on Thursday in the main event of Palace Fighting Championship 11 at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, California. Marshall stopped opponent Rafael Real with strikes just 69-second into the headlining bout. Also on the card, Jorge Olivera retained the PFC light heavyweight title in the co-main event, defeating challenger Isaiah Larson via third-round submission, and Erin Toughill improved her record to 8-2-1 with a unanimous decision win over Jan Finney.
• Heavyweight prospect Dave Herman returned to action on Saturday, earning a TKO of Chris Guillen early in the first-round of their bout at King of Kombat in Texas.
• UFC veteran Dan Christison was also victorious on Saturday, submitting Steve Banks with a kimura late in the first-round of their matchup at Intimidation Cage Fighting “Redemption”.
• The Ultimate Fighter 7 cast member Paul Bradley, who was forced out of the middleweight tournament due to a skin infection, defeated fellow TUF 7 fighter Dante Rivera via TKO just 34-seconds into their bout at a Ring of Combat event at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, NJ on Saturday.