UFC heavyweight contender Overeem fails drug test
Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone last week, putting his scheduled May 26 title bout against champion Junior dos Santos at the MGM Grand Garden in doubt.
The heavyweight showdown is currently slated to headline UFC 146.
Nevada Athletic Commission executive director Keith Kizer announced the results of the test Wednesday. Commission officials showed up at a news conference promoting the event at the MGM Grand on March 27 and tested all six fighters that were present.
All tests came back negative except for Overeem’s. His test showed a testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio (T/E) of greater than 10-to-1, though Kizer does not yet have the exact number. The acceptable limit is 6-to-1.
According to Kizer, Overeem would need to appear in front of the commission should he seek a license to fight.
Overeem has the right to request the “B” sample to be tested, but Kizer indicated Overeem has not done so as of late Wednesday afternoon.
A representative for the UFC said the organization was still in the process of gathering information and would have no further comment or announcements on the matter at this time.
UFC president Dana White was participating in a conference call with Canadian media when news broke of the failed test and was not so diplomatic in his immediate response.
“I am beyond pissed about this. I’m so (expletive) mad right now I can’t even begin ,” White said, according to Postmedia News. “How (expletive) stupid do you have to be? Seriously dumb. Anybody who’s using right now is an absolute (expletive) moron. It’s beyond — what’s the word I’m looking for — it’s beyond belief. It’s beyond comprehension. You’re an absolute moron, a brain-dead absolute (expletive) dummy. It goes beyond a guy have any common sense whatsoever.”
White said part of the reason he is so upset is that Overeem sat in White’s office with other UFC executives and promised he was clean. The 31-year-old Dutch fighter has faced allegations of performance-enhancing drug use for much of his career as he has competed mostly internationally.
He was granted a conditional license by the NAC to fight Brock Lesnar at UFC 141 in December after he failed to provide a mandatory random sample when one was requested, and the issue took several days to get resolved. When the commission was finally able to reach Overeem in Europe, he provided a blood sample from his personal doctor when a urine sample was mandated.
In order to secure the conditional license, Overeem was required to submit a urine sample within 72 hours and two additional tests within six months.
Overeem knocked out Lesnar, the former champion, in the first round of that bout.
As of now, Overeem is not licensed to fight. Kizer said Overeem will not be licensed with an outstanding positive test. Should he appear before the commission and be officially denied a license to fight, Overeem would be barred from re-applying for one year.
White said on the conference call he doesn’t have a backup plan for the card should Overeem be unable to compete.
The event is the first in UFC history to feature all heavyweight fights on the main card, and the lineup could be altered to promote one of the other fighters into the headlining title bout.
The most logical choice would be either Las Vegan Frank Mir or Cain Velasquez, who are scheduled to fight each other on the card.
Mir is a former champion who also once held the interim belt. He is currently on a three-fight winning streak. Velasquez held the belt until he was knocked out by dos Santos in only 64 seconds back in November.
Mir said he would gladly step up to fight dos Santos for the belt.
“I would be excited if given the opportunity to compete for the UFC’s heavyweight title at UFC 146 if the reports released earlier today regarding Alistair Overeem failing his ‘A’ sample drug test are true,” Mir said. “I have been fortunate to be able to fight in the UFC for more than a decade, and it is a dream of mine to become the first three-time heavyweight champion in the UFC. Being able to fight Junior dos Santos would put me one step closer to that dream.”
The positive test by Overeem comes on the heels of the resolution of a legal issue for Overeem.
On the same day the test was taken last week, Overeem was sentenced to 50 hours of community service and anger management courses, plus a 90-day suspended jail sentence as part of a plea deal for a misdemeanor battery charge in Las Vegas.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.
