Dave Herman was wiped from the UFC 136 bill for undisclosed reasons on Wednesday, his bout with Mike Russow replaced by a featherweight rematch between Nam Phan and Leonard Garcia. On Thursday, Herman revealed the reason behind his removal from the card: an apparent failed drug test for marijuana, which he denies. 

“It’s disappointing,” Herman told Clinch Gear Radio. “I’ve been training really hard, and I feel like I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in for a fight, but stuff happens. Maybe it’s for the best, [to] give me some more time to get even better and give an even better show in my next fight.” 

Herman asserts that he submitted a urine sample to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation through an independent testing service on Sept. 15. One week later, the heavyweight claims he was called by the commission and told that he would need to resubmit his specimen, as his first sample had been lost. 

“I’ve been trying to talk to the Texas commission. I went in to get my drug test. A week later, they called me and said they lost my urine specimen, and I had to come in and redo it,” said Herman. “That was last week. I went back in that day, and then, today, they said I failed. I said, ‘That’s impossible.’” 

According to Herman, he was then told by the commission that his first sample had not actually been lost. Rather, the second test served to screen for performance-enhancing drugs, while the first tested for drugs of abuse. It is currently unclear why Herman was allegedly made to submit a second sample if his first offering was apparently flagged. Regardless, Herman denies the positive test, stating that he does not use marijuana. 

“They didn’t say I [tested positive] for performance-enhancing drugs. They said I tested positive for marijuana. I don’t even smoke. I haven’t even had a beer in two months,” said Herman. “I’ve been trying to straighten this out. Texas said the first [test] was for drugs [of abuse] and the second one was for steroids.”

Sherdog attempted to contact Susan Stanford, the public information officer for the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, but she could not be reached for comment. Headlined by a lightweight championship rematch between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, UFC 136 goes down Oct. 8 from the Toyota Center in Houston.