Holly Holm endorsing company that makes UFC-banned products

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Saturday, January 16, 2016

The UFC seems none too pleased that bantamweight championHolly Holmhas agreed to endorse a supplement maker that sells products banned by the UFC and the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Holm's deal with Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals was announced by the company earlier this week. According to a USA Today Sports report, Holm appears in an ad touting products that contain the stimulant DMAA, or dimethylamylamine. DMAA is a synthetic drug sold as a dietary supplement and used, in part, for improving athletic performance.

DMAA also is banned by the Food and Drug Administration.

There is no indication that Holm uses Hi-Tech products.She has submitted seven tests to USADA, which operates as a third-party drug-testing organization for the UFC's anti-doping program, and has never failed a test.

"Holly Holm is a great UFC champion and a role model for the sport of mixed martial arts," the UFC said in a statement provided to USA Today Sports. "The UFC organization has not researched the company that is sponsoring Holm, and UFC does not condone any athlete that uses a substance on the World Anti-Doping Agency's Prohibited List."

Holm and her manager did not respond to several requests for comment from USA Today.

One of the products that Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals makes is HydroxyElite, which, by the company's own admission on its website, is a reverse-engineered version of OxyElite Pro, a best-selling supplement that the FDA banned and made its producer USP Labs destroy in 2013.

Hi-Tech's product includes DMAA, as OxyElite Pro did. DMAA has been found to have caused heart attacks and seizures.

Holm, 34, took the UFC by storm in November by knocking out champion Ronda Rousey in their 135-pound championship fight in Australia, handing Rousey her first loss.

UFC president Dana White said recently that Holm (10-0) willfight Miesha Tate (17-5) at theUFC 197 pay-per-view event March 5 in Las Vegas before a potential rematch against Rousey later this year.

Information from ESPN MMA writer Brett Okamoto and ESPN sports business reporter Darren Rovell was included in this report.