Yoel Romero may be returning to the UFC sooner than expected following positive drug test result

It looks like Yoel Romero and USADA have reached a settlement.

The top UFC middleweight contender was facing a multi-year suspension from fighting after being popped for a banned substance in an out of competition drugs test. Romero's team announced their intention to appeal the punishment citing that Romero wasn't aware he had taken the substance. Romero would have been the first known UFC fighter to appeal a recommended USADA suspension. The "Soldier of God" maintained that the positive drugs test result was not his fault, claiming that a contaminated supplement containing a banned substance which wasn't printed on the label caused him to fail the test. The substance has yet to be revealed by USADA. However, it appears as though Romero's suspension will be considerably lighter than initially anticipated. Ariel Helwani reported for MMA Fighting that both parties have settled on a suspension lasting less than nine months long from the time he was flagged for a potential USADA violation in January, meaning he should be able to step back inside the Octagon before the year's end. We last saw Romero fighting at UFC 194, scoring a highly contentious split decision victory over Jacare Souza in a middleweight title eliminator bout. With newly crowned champion Luke Rockhold set to defend his belt against Chris Weidman at UFC 199, Romero will be one of the front runners for the next crack at the 185 lb belt.