Victor Conte Denies Ryan Garcia's Claim, I'm Not Behind Positive PED Test!

Ryan Garcia placed blame for his failed PED test squarely at the feet of Victor Conte ... but the former BALCO mastermind turned anti-doping advocate says that's pure BS, telling TMZ Sports he had absolutely nothing to do with the flunked test!

"His conspiracy theory is completely wrong and debunked. I have nothing to do with this. I'm completely independent of VADA," Conte told us on Thursday, addressing Garcia's allegation.

If you missed it, after news broke that King Ry flunked multiple tests for Ostarine, the 25-year-old fighter lodged this allegation.

“I hear Devin Haney, he’s connected to Victor Conte, who’s connected to VADA, real close,’’ Garcia alleged in a video posted to his social media page, adding, “Victor Conte, who’s known for getting caught for cheating.’’

FYI, Conte's Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative, or BALCO, was at the center of the massive steroid scandal that rocked baseball in the mid-2000s. Since then, Conte's dedicated his career to keeping sports clean. He has a supplement, SNAC, and has worked with many athletes, including Haney.

We also asked Victor, one of the foremost experts on performance enhancers, to explain how an athlete might benefit from taking Ostarine, the substance that popped up on Ryan's test.

"Ostarine is something that is called a S-A-R-M. That stands for Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator," Conte explained.

"This classification of drugs are very similar to anabolic steroids. When they became first introduced, they were pitched as safer than steroids. But, of course, they promote protein synthesis or muscle growth, as well as fat loss."

Victor added ... "They definitely enhance performance."

As for the specific benefits, VC explained it like this.

"Faster, stronger, better reaction time. It energizes you. It helps with recovery. It accelerates healing and tissue repair after workouts. Definitely enhances performance."

Of course, Garcia has maintained, adamantly, that he never cheated ... and if he wishes, Ryan can ask The Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) to test a secondary sample that was collected the day before/day of the big fight.

Conte also breaks down how a positive test could occur, whether VADA knew he failed before he stepped in the ring with Haney, what will likely happen to Garcia, and much more.