‘Razor’ Rob Wilkinson pulled from Professional Fighters League match amid failed drug test reports

Tasmania’s ‘Razor’ Rob Wilkinson has been replaced in his highly-anticipated fight against Ty Flores in the US, amid multiple reports the reigning champion has failed a drug test.

Rob Wilkinson lands a heavy blow on the chin of Thiago Santos during his unanimous decision victory in April in Las Vegas. Pic: Professional Fighters League

Tasmania’s ‘Razor’ Rob Wilkinson has been replaced in his highly-anticipated fight against Ty Flores in the United States, amid multiple overseas reports he has failed a drug test.

As of Wednesday night, a fight card on the Professional Fighters League website showed reigning champion Wilkinson facing off against Flores in the light heavyweight division of the PFL 4 co-main event on June 8.

But Thursday morning, Wilkinson was nowhere to be seen on the schedule — with his opponent now facing Ohio’s Dan Spohn in Atlanta, US.

MMAmania.com reported the PFL light heavyweight champion was removed from his scheduled fight against Flores after allegedly “failing a drug test in the wake of his win over former UFC title challenger Thiago Santos at PFL 1 (in) April” and had been pulled from the rest of the PFL season.

Rob Wilkinson was due to face Ty Flores in the PFL 4 in Atlanta next week, as the official fight card showed as recently as Wednesday night.

But the official fight card has now disappeared from the PFL website, with Flores now squaring off against Dan Spohn.

Wilkinson posted a promo of his big fight on his Instagram page on May 17 with the caption: “Excited to get back in there!”

The Tassie MMA fighter appears to have deactivated or deleted his Instagram account overnight.

The news was broken by Las Vegas-based journalist Alex Behunin of Cageside Press, who reported the failed drug test was “confirmed with multiple sources”.

The news — also reported by MMA Junkie/USA Today Sports — took off like wildfire on Twitter and was re-tweeted by MMA podcast team Spinnin Backfist, an offshoot of US media company Barstool Sports.

Cageside Press reports a total of 10 fighters have now tested positive for banned substances in the wake of the PFL’s Las Vegas events in April, where Wilkinson beat Thiago Santos.

In an official statement on May 9, the PFL confirmed they had been notified by the Nevada State Athletic Commission that “several fighters who competed in PFL 2023 Regular Season events this past April have been temporarily suspended until further review by the Commission”.

“The PFL has a zero-tolerance policy related to the usage of banned substances and complies with U.S. State Athletic Commission requirements,” the PFL stated.

“Further, as the PFL moves towards the highest level of testing and compliance in the sport, PFL is engaged with USADA on the implementation of its athlete anti-doping program.”

The PFL and NSAC have not confirmed names of the suspended fighters, with Wilkinson reportedly the last of the competitors from the April event to be tested for banned substances.

The Mercury has reached out to Wilkinson and his management team for comment.

Originally published as ‘Razor’ Rob Wilkinson pulled from Professional Fighters League match amid failed drug test reports