In the home of gambling it was a gamble that went horribly wrong.
Tasmania’s Rob Wilkinson appeared on top of his world 12 months ago, kickstarting his PFL title defence with a victory over Thiago Santos in Las Vegas.
But that world soon came crashing down as Wilkinson was among a slew of MMA fighters to test positive for a banned substance following sweeping drug tests by the Nevada Athletic Commission.
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“It was a pretty big – obviously – mistake on my behalf and I own that and no-one’s more disappointed than I am. But I had that punishment of not fighting last year at all. Now I’m back and I get to put it behind me and go out there and get a good win and good knockout and kind of move forward from this.”
Wilkinson will fight England’s Tom Breese in PFL2’s light heavyweight opener after American Phil Davis withdrew with injury.