The PFL has taken another massive hit late Tuesday night. 2022 light heavyweight champion Rob Wilkinson has been pulled from his June 8th fight against Ty Flores after a failed drug test. MMA Mania was first on the news. The failed test comes following Wilkinson’s dominant Unanimous Decision win over Thiago Santos at PFL 1 in April. Ty Flores will remain on the card with longtime PFL veteran Dan Spohn stepping in to face him. Flores gave an exclusive statement to CSUK’s own Patrick Danna regarding the situation,
“I don’t think anyone should be surprised by the news. If anything, I’m surprised more guys didn’t pop. Props to Dan for taking the fight on short notice. That’s a dog”.
Rob Wilkinson Becomes 10th Positive Test in 2 Weeks
Rob Wilkinson is just the latest in a slew of PFL fighters that tested positive. Just two weeks ago, there was a massive wave of positive tests resulting in the removal of those fighters from this year’s season. Among the names were big-name newcomers like Thiago Santos and Krzysztof Jotko, along with 2021 PFL heavyweight champion Bruno Cappelozza. Wilkinson now joins that group of former UFC athletes who have now failed a drug test in the PFL. These positive tests forced the PFL to reconstruct their upcoming cards in June and have led to negative press for the promotion.
Headlines Out of the PFL
The PFL has been making headlines recently with the massive signings of Cedric Doumbe and Francis Ngannou. The promotion also made a big splash with the signing of Jake Paul and their new Superfight Division. If the PFL wants to continue to grow as a promotion, it’ll need to stay out of headlines like this in the future.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
