(You think Antonio Silva‘s training methods are too tough, Alistair? Just wait until Jillian Michaels gets ahold of you. Photo via Getty Images.) 

Well, this would be a hell of a lot more triumphant news had Alistair Overeem not been tenderized like a cheap cut of (horse) steak at UFC 156, but you’ll be happy to know that Overeem, along with all of the 22 fighters who competed on the card, passed their post-fight drug tests with flying colors. Here’s where things get weird; Overeem’s test did come back with abnormal results, just not the kind you’d expect. And no, it wasn’t for Mary Jane. MMAJunkie passed along the results:

But with his blood test form his UFC 156 fight, his testosterone total level actually fell below the normal range of 250-1,100 nano grams per deciliter (ng/dL). Overeem’s total testosterone came in at 179 from the test, which was administered the morning after the fight at 8:25 a.m. on Feb. 3.

All other levels within the blood test came back within the normal reference range. 

Wait, Overeem’s testosterone level was below normal?! I think this occasion calls for a very special head-splosion clip:

(If this man does not strike you as the kind of person who spends most of his free time getting stoned, playing Xbox, and waxing poetic about the flaws of Jiu-Jitsu, then we don’t know who does.) 

When we first heard word that Stephan Bonnar and Dave Herman failed their UFC 153 drug tests — for Drostanolone and Marijuana respectively — we couldn’t help but reflect on the timeless words of George W. Bush when he stated, “Fool me once…..shame on………..shame on you. Fool me, I can’t get fooled again.” Unfortunately for Bonnar and Herman, they failed to fool the piss test even once while in the UFC (at least to our knowledge) and have felt the unforgiving wrath of the Interwebs as a result of their insolence. Hearts were broken. Tears were shed. Butts were hurt.

And in an effort to gauge their fellow fighters feelings on the issue, FightHubTv recently interviewed such fighters as Travis Browne, Eddie Alvarez, and Tyrone Spong to get some perspective on the issue. Also, Rampage Jackson threw in his two cents and actually managed to do so without turning the interview into another “Dear Diary” entry aimed at the UFC. Good for him.

Video after the jump. 

Defense exhibit I: You can clearly see Feijao’s teammate slipping him something behind his back. Don’t waste your time, Feijao, it’s been tried before. (Photo: MMAJunkie.com)

If Dana White has been hexed with an “Injury Curse“, surely someone has placed a “Banned Substance Pox” on poor Scott Coker. After losing two stars in Cyborg Santos and Muhammed Lawal to failed drug tests earlier this year, he’ll now likely have to soldier on without the services of former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champion Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante.

As first tweeted by Gabriel Montoya and reported by MMAFighting.com [thanks for doing the heavy lifting, guys], the California State Athletic Commission has suspended ‘Feijao’ for one year and fined him $2,500 after testing positive for a banned substance following his quick destruction of Mike Kyle last month at “Strikeforce: Barnett vs Cormier”. ‘Feijao’ stunned Kyle with a big knee in the opening moments of the bout then swarmed him with ground and pound before pulling guard, sinking in a guillotine choke, and drawing the tap—all in a cool 33 seconds.

CSAC’s George Dodd has yet to reveal which banned substance Cavalcante was popped for, but his manager, Ed Soares, isn’t buying it…

(If you’ve ever seen the kind of bedbugs that Oakland produces, then you’d be less inclined to call Chael a cheater is all we’re saying.)

Well, well, well. As if it wasn’t bad enough that a mild-mannered, unassuming guy like Chael Sonnen lost *his* UFC middleweight championship due to a misunderstanding of the rules back at UFC 117, and shortly thereafter found himself thrust into the center of an elaborate conspiracy (that’s right, conspiracy) that attempted to invalidate the four and a half round ass whooping he laid out on Anderson Silva, now he has this to deal with this. The poor guy.

You see, Potato Nation, when you become the best at something, be it sports, politics, or whatever else, the common folk can’t help but become jealous of your accomplishments, to the point that they will go out of their way to try and discredit what you have worked so hard to achieve. Such was the case for Herman Cain, and now it appears that none other than HH Chael Sonnen has found himself in the public’s crosshairs as well. As we all know, Sonnen is the greatest mixed martial artist of all time, bar none, and because of this, everyone with a University of Phoenix Health Care degree is trying to use their “science” to tear him down. Even though he was granted a therapeutic use exemption to help him deal with his inability to produce testosterone, a real, crippling disease that many MMA fighters face, haters are still coming out of the woodwork to try and soil the name of a man who literally defines “upstanding citizen” with his every action.

Today’s mountebank is none other than MMAJunkies go-to medicine man, Dr. Johnny Benjamin, who boldly claimed that the only reason Sonnen’s body cannot produce the testosterone it should is due to the fact that he definitely used steroids in the past. Here’s what he told BloodyElbow:

Was Chael Sonnen a big time collegiate wrestler? Yes he was. I’m going to opine and say to you, there’s no way in the world you get to the level of collegiate wrestling that Chael Sonnen was at, with hypogonadism. Let me explain to you why. Hypogonadism means that the testes did not produce enough testosterone for one to normally mature. He wasn’t on TRT as a teenager. He became this big, muscled up monster and NCAA wrestler with hypogonadism? Hell no.

Read More ADD COMMENTS (23) DIGG THIS

(Come on guys, I promise never to let you down again…pinky swear! / Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle)

By Josh Hutchinson

Alistair Overeem — former Strikeforce and Dream heavyweight champion, K-1 Grand Prix champion, two-time World MMA Awards International Fighter of the Year recipient, horse-meat enthusiast, music video superstar, and the #1 contender in the UFC’s heavyweight division. By now we all know the drama surrounding him and his scheduled championship fight at UFC 146. We’ve seen various replacement opponents for Junior Dos Santos get shot down, and have come to a general consensus that the Reem is most likely a cheating bastard. Fans and pundits alike have collectively called bullshit on the idea that NSAC would still consider letting the fight occur. If you take things like science, logic, and common sense into account, it’s pretty obvious what should happen here — but if we don’t play devil’s advocate, who will? Instead, let’s look at three reasons why Overeem vs. Dos Santos must happen. For example…

1) Why let all this publicity go to waste? Of the major MMA news stories that have popped up over the last few weeks, which one has dominated the headlines? If you said “Overeem’s urine analysis results,” then congratulations — you’ve not only been reading this site, but you have a much better vocabulary than me, because I would have said “Reem’s hot piss test.” For better or worse, Overeem’s dodgy test results have consumed the MMA world like the plagues of Egypt, and his name is on everyone’s lips. Maybe it’s not exactly the publicity that the UFC was hoping for, but they’d be fools not to take advantage of it. Dos Santos is such a likeable, soft-spoken character, and it would be very easy to spin the Reem as the villain in their match. And suddenly, what was simply a great heavyweight matchup just got a compelling storyline.

By Elias Cepeda

(Photo via Esther Lin & MMAFighting )

A week before he will appear before the Nevada State Athletic Commission for a hearing regarding his failed March drug test and to request a license to fight Junior Dos Santos at UFC 146, the NSAC’s Executive Director Keith Kizer says that Alistair Overeem’s legal team has yet to request additional sample tests or to indicate that they will apply for a therapeutic use exemption for testosterone replacement therapy.

“They’ve asked for no additional testing ,” Kizer told CagePotato.com. “I have talked with Overeem’s attorney and that issue has not been raised.”

“He has not indicated what [Overeem’s] defense will be, but he has not said to me, as I’m sure he would have if he was using it, that [Overeem] is on TRT,” Kizer continued. “That is not to say that they could not still make that case and ask for a therapeutic use exemption for TRT, but if they do, I’d be as shocked as the next person. We’ll all see what they do when April 24^th comes around.”

When Overeem’s hearing does take place in one week, Kizer anticipates that the fighter will not have an easy road to getting licensed again. “It is going to be a very tough hearing for Mr. Overeem, to say the least,” Kizer said.

(Props: Spike TV via Fightlinker)

It’s been over a week since news broke of Alistair Overeem failing his random pre-fight drug test, and the Reem has been quiet as a mouse ever since. Now would be a good time for him to start making the media rounds with an explanation, or an apology, or at least an acknowledgment that he failed the test and potentially wrecked a massive UFC heavyweight title fight. So what does this big son-of-a-bitch do? He goes on Spike TV’s MMA Uncenscored Live on Thursday, on the condition that he won’t discuss the drug-test situation in any way, and instead gives a straight interview about his matchup with Junior Dos Santos, which again, probably won’t happen.

Luckily, the hosts didn’t swallow the bullshit. “Either P90X really, really works, or the man was putting something in his body,” said host Craig Carton, looking at side-to-side photos of Overeem from 2005 and 2012. Nate Quarry agreed, saying “You’ve got to be very naive to take a look at those pictures and think he’s not using performance enhancing ‘supplements.’ Let’s just say he can put on 40 to 50 pounds of pure muscle in about four to five years — when 20 pounds of that is directly on your head, that’s an issue.”

(Overeem likes his pecs like his K-1 trophies: abnormally large.) 

On a recent episode of Inside MMA, commentators Joe Rogan and Michael Schiavello sat down alongside Josh Barnett to discuss the topic that has thrown the MMA world into chaos over the past few days: Alistair Overeem’s positive drug test. Barnett wisely chose to remain silent for the duration of the conversation, likely because his last positive test was responsible for destroying the Afflicition promotion before it could spend itself into its own grave.

But it was Schiavello, a long time friend of Overeem, who took an interesting stance on the issue, basically saying that, if a fighter pisses hot anytime other than fight week, why should they be held accountable? Here’s what he said:

You know, while we’re talking about the subject, Kenny, I just wanna chime in here on a couple things that have been playing on my mind, the last week or so, since the news of Alistair (Overeem) broke. Alistair doesn’t have a license with the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), so how are they testing him in the first place when he doesn’t have a license with them? By what jurisdiction are they testing him? And ‘B,’ everyone seems to be hanging Alistair out to dry. They’ve been nailing him to the cross and crucifying him, but it’s still two months away from his fight. You know, he hasn’t technically cheated. Because, unless he pisses hot on the fight night, how could he possibly have cheated? There’s still an opportunity he can get from the 14:1 down to the allowed 6:1 level by fight time. But we’re calling him out as a cheat, two months out from a fight?

Yes, Michael, we are calling him a cheat. Probably because he fucking cheated.

Check out the video, along with Mark Hunt’s reaction to the news, after the jump.

(Could I get JUST ONE of those exemptions, por favor?) 

Some big news out of California today, as it appears that the California State Athletic Commission has taken a huge step towards legalizing the therapeutic use of testosterone and marijuana in mixed martial arts competition. SI.com was the first to break the news:

The California State Athletic Commission voted on Monday to approve an amendment that allows therapeutic use exemptions (TUE) for combat sports’ athletes who use drugs currently banned by the state agency for medical purposes, including testosterone and marijuana.

To be adopted into state law, the amendment’s verbiage must now be reviewed and approved by the Department of Consumer Affairs and then the state’s Office of Administrative Law, a process that could take months or even years, if it passes at all.

OK, so it’s not as big of news as one could have hoped, but it’s something, right? Then again, depending on your stance on testosterone replacement therapy (or marijuana for that matter), this could be a step in the wrong direction for the sport of MMA.

(It’s always the ones you least suspect. / Photo via MMAFighting)

By Elias Cepeda

As we reported nearly one week ago, six heavyweights on the UFC 146 card were surprise-tested for drugs in Nevada after a press conference in Las Vegas. Today, Nevada State Athletic Commission Director Keith Kizer told CagePotato through a written statement that while five of those fighters passed their tests, number one heavyweight title contender Alistair Overeem (who was slated to fight Junior Dos Santos on the May card) did not:

“The following athletes were tested on March 27:  Alistair Overeem, Junior dos Santos, Frank Mir, Cain Velasquez, Roy Nelson and Antonio Silva.  All test results were negative, except Mr. Overeem tested positive for an increased T/E ratio (> 10).  Mr. Overeem will need to appear before the Commission if he seeks licensure,” Kizer’s statement reads.

Overeem was granted a conditional license to compete in Nevada at the end of the year after missing deadlines for testing. As a part of that conditional license, he was subject to additional surprise drug screenings like the one administered last week.

(I’m still convinced that ‘Reem ate one of those Pit Fighter power-pills before the match.)

MMA Weekly passes along the news that 19 of the 20 fighters who competed on December 30th’s UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem card were tested for drugs of abuse and performance enhancing substances by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, with all 19 testing clean. (Congrats, guys; way to not fuck it up like some people we know.) That includes new UFC heavyweight #1 contender Alistair Overeem, who continues to prove the legitimacy of his beast-like physique. Still, Overeem has to pass two more random drug tests over the next six months to satisfy the conditions of his conditional license.

Only Jon Fitch managed to avoid a post-fight drug test at UFC 141. The only explanation that NSAC executive director Keith Kizer gave for this omission was that “he lost” Which begs the question — why were those nine other losers tested, then? Do you think Brock Lesnar and Nam Phan felt like pissing into cups after the beatings they took?

(Come on. You’re telling me that’s not a pothead? / Photo via Sherdog)

Update: Herman only tested positive for marijuana. The report that originally stated he also tested positive for steroids came from a misinterpretation of his interview.

UFC heavyweight Dave Herman has confirmed that his scheduled UFC 136 main card bout against Mike Russow has been canceled, after his pre-fight drug tests came back positive for marijuana. Herman denies using the illegal substance. As he explained to Clinch Gear Radio:

“I went in to get in my drug test (on Sept. 15), and a week later, they called me and told me they lost my urine specimen. I had to come in and redo it. That was last week. I went back in that day. And [on Wednesday], they told me I failed. I said, ‘That’s impossible.’…[now,] Texas said they never lost it and the first one [tested positive] for drugs and the second was for steroids. I don’t even smoke…I haven’t even had a beer in two months.”

Jennifer Tate has become the first female MMA fighter to test positive for drugs. Results of a drug test administered during EliteXC’s “Clash at Chumash” event — where Tate was submitted by Shayna Baszler via armbar — showed that Tate had marijuana in her system; she has been suspended for three months and fined $500. The spunky 130-pounder joins such notable mixed martial artists as Nick Diaz, Kazuhiro Nakamura, and Diego Sanchez in the previously male-dominated fraternity of fighters who can’t resist taking a few bong rips before a match. Viva equality!