Former WEC bantamweight champion Brian Bowles has been issued a nine-month suspension and $5,700 fine by the Nevada State Athletic Commission after testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone at UFC 160, ESPN reported on Thursday.

Bowles returned to the Octagon at UFC 160 in May after an 18-month layoff, suffering a second round TKO at the hands of George Roop after clearly winning the first round.

The West Virginia native attended the commission’s hearing on yesterday, claiming he had no idea he failed his post-fight drug test with a testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio of over 20-1.

The highest T/E ratio allowed by the NSAC is 6-1.

Bowles “swore on his mother’s life” he only took “normal stuff” as a part of his supplement regimen leading up to the bout and had no idea what caused the positive test.

With that in mind, the 33-year-old did not have a formal appeal prepared, nor did he respond to a written notification from the NSAC about his failed drug test.

Nevertheless, Bowles’ manager said the fighter will return to the Octagon after he serves his suspension.

The heavy-handed grappler put the MMA world on notice by going 8-0 and capturing the WEC bantamweight title from Miguel Torres in August 2009, knocking out the seemingly unstoppable champ with ease.

However, Bowles has gone just 2-3 since then, getting finished in each loss.

The 13-fight veteran has had a career plagued with injuries since losing to Dominick Cruz in March 2010, so it seems unlikely he will ever be the dominant force he once was.