“…and were it not for my testosterone deficiency, your honor, I would have thrown him completely out of the Octagon. Case closed?” (Pic: NBCSports.com)

A series of events that unfolded quickly and ended with Nate Marquardt’s exile from the UFC could see an equally swift ruling by the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission later this week. Marquardt and his representatives are on the docket for a July 13th appearance, during which time they hope to plead their case for his use of Testosterone Replacement Therapy.

As in the cases with Sean Sherk, Josh Barnett, and most recently Chael Sonnen, it’s not uncommon for hearings like these to be delayed for months after a failed drug test, but maybe that’s just due to California’s ‘totally chilled out’ approach to legal proceedings. Unlike the Sonnen case, this one shouldn’t be marred by a possible multiple personality disorder nor probable pseudologia fantastica. Instead, we may get to hear some key decision makers weighing in on the facts of TRT at an important crossroads in our sport.

(Steroids: You’re doing it wrong. Bizarre photo-illustration via SportsNickel)

Last Wednesday, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval signed a bill that will provide more funds for out-of-competition steroid testing of MMA fighters, boxers, and kickboxers. The money will come from an existing ticket fee, and will pay for random drug screenings at any time, including training periods. The new law goes into effect July 1st.

Currently, the Nevada State Athletic Commission gets $1 per ticket sold for large MMA/boxing events, and 50 cents for smaller events that gross less than $500,000. Some of that money will now be diverted to year-round testing of performance enhancing drugs, both at a professional and amateur level.

It’s not the first time that Nevada has tried to do this. MMAFighting passes along some history:

By Gary “Big Daddy” Goodridge

Thanks everybody for your responses. Anybody who has followed my career knows that I’ve always loved interacting with my fans. This blog gives me a chance to keep in the game, at least mentally. I’ve had a few hits to the head and I suffer from some memory loss but I hope that this column helps to dispel some myths and educate you about the things I’ve learned throughout my life. Some of your questions had me cracking up, and most of you clearly have way too much time on your hands. It’s good to be half man, half amazing and black by popular demand…

‘MyDonkeyPunch’ asks: What was the craziest thing a fighter whispered to you when fighting?
Usually I was the one trash-talking during the fights so I’ll tell you about one of the coolest things that anybody ever whispered to me outside of the ring. After I won one of my K-1 fights in Las Vegas, I got the opportunity to meet Muhammad Ali who was there to present a trophy to the GP winner. Ali had always been my hero growing up so meeting him was a dream come true. When I shook Muhammad Ali’s hand, he pulled me in a close embrace and whispered, “You’re one tough nigger.” I was so honored and excited and it was hard to describe how much that experience meant to me.

‘bgoldstein’ asks: Fill in the blank: __% of fighters use steroids.
Let me answer this question by making an analogy. What percentages of race car drivers use high-quality gasoline? The reason why I ask that is because when you’re running a high-performance vehicle you want to use the fuel that will give you the greatest edge in winning. If you are not using the same quality of fuel as all of the other top drivers, you will start to fall behind no matter how good your engine is.

(Not so fast, buddy: Silva’s big win could cost him dearly. Photoprops: MMAGospel)

Reports about Thiago Silva‘s sketchy UFC 125 drug test results have been swirling since last month, and were allegedly the cause for Silva’s removal from a slated bout with Quinton Jackson at UFC 130, as well as Brandon Vera’s sudden un-firing. And even though Silva’s camp promised us that the light-heavyweight’s drug test would come back normal, the Nevada State Athletic Commission is telling a different story today. As the NSAC confirmed with FightersOnly and MMAJunkie, Silva is being accused of supplying a urine sample that was not from a human source.

(Maybe they should let some terrible judges go instead as a cost-cutting measure.)

Last week MMAJunkie reported that the Nevada State Athletic Commission will be cutting random year-round drug testing from it’s 2011 budget due to a lack of available funding. The move will free up upwards of $20,000 that the program required to run in the past. In 2009, NSAC received $18,000 in government funds for the testing program. The governing body requested the same amount last year, but only received $12,000, but before the year was over, were asked to give the money, which was mostly spent by that time, back to State regulators.

Because the costs of effectively running the program are simply too great without an outside funding source, the commission has been forced to suspend out-of-competition drug testing. Athletes are still tested either the day prior to an event or immediately following it — sometimes both —  but with adequate time to clean out their systems, fighters can easily test clean even if they have been abusing performance enhancing drugs for months during the rest of the “off-season.”

The question is, should commissions just throw in the towel in the fight against drug use by MMA athletes or should they come up with other means of procuring the funds to try to keep the sport as clean as possible like other professional sports like football, baseball, basketball and hockey do?

(“Oh God! His tiny, shriveled balls are digging into my back!” / Photo courtesy of MMA Weekly)

After taking his third-straight loss against a bitch-slappin’ Thiago Silva at UFC 125 on New Year’s Day, light-heavyweight Brandon Vera was given his walking papers by the promotion. But according to FiveOuncesofPain and MMAJunkie, the UFC has had a change of heart, and has reinstated Vera’s contract. The reason for the flip-flop seems to be Silva’s mysterious drug test from that fight, which is still under scrutiny by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. The result of the Vera/Silva bout is expected to be changed to a “no contest,” and Silva will be facing a fine and suspension if the reports are accurate.

Last week, Vera went on The Ryan Loco Show and responded to the recent rumors of Silva’s ‘roid-usage. As he explained, it wouldn’t surprise him, and he wants revenge:

("You think it’s easy being the only reasonable person on Earth? I got news for you, it is *not* easy." PicProps: MMAFrenzy)

MMA’s most infamous steroid cheat says he hasn’t quite decided if he’ll be present next month when the California State Athletic Commission rules on his application to be relicensed to fight in that state. Nonetheless, Josh Barnett still plans on competing in this year’s Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix, though the date and location of his first round bout against Brett Rogers is yet to be determined. With or without Barnett in attendance the CSAC will rule on his license come Feb. 4, according to executive director George Dodd, and that ruling will likely effect where the California-based promotion can hold events on which Barnett is scheduled to appear.

As of right now, we’d guess that we shouldn’t plan on seeing “The Baby Faced Assassin” compete in any of the “major” combat sports states like Cali, Nevada or New Jersey anytime soon, especially if he ghosts the CSAC next month. Naturally, Barnett is taking a typically nonchalant, borderline combative stance on the whole thing. Dig it: "There are still some things I have to figure out … with (legal) counsel and Strikeforce and also to hear something from the commission (about) what exactly they intend to do or want," he told MMAjunkie.com this week. "I definitely don’t want to spend my time and fly up there to be ambushed."

If 2010 was a cold beer, we’d be down to the backwash. December puts all of us MMA-pundit types in a reflective mood, and this year gave us a double-crapload of big stories, insane fights, rising stars, and utter embarrassments to wrap our heads around. And so, we’d like to pay tribute to 2010 in the best way we know how — sarcasm and insults, mostly. Without further ado, here are 15 things we felt were worthy of some end-of-year recognition, Potato-style…

The Giant Silva Freak Show Award, presented each year to the match that’s made strictly for gruesome entertainment value; fighters should ideally exhibit a tremendous difference in either size or experience level.
Winner: Randy Couture vs. James Toney at UFC 118, in which a tubby boxing champ trash-talked his way into a co-headling bout against an MMA legend, and got choked out before he was able to land a single punch. This marks the first time in eleven years that the Giant Silva Award hasn’t been granted to a fight held in Japan.
Also receiving votes this year: Herschel Walker vs. Greg Nagy

The Wanderlei Silva Unintentionally Homoerotic Smack Talk Award, known as "The Wandy" is presented each year to the fighter who, when trying to hype a fight, inadvertently makes reference to having gay sex with his (or her) opponent.
Winner: Josh Koscheck, for the utterly disturbing wild-eyed, tongue-waving description above of what he was planning to do to UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre during this season of The Ultimate Fighter. 
Also receiving votes this year: Matt Horwich, for his cringeworthy rant about how he was going to Mike Tyson 10th Planet protagonist Renato Laranja.

The Natasha Wicks Memorial Best Female Newcomer Award, presented each year to the up-and-coming MMA ring girl — preferably blonde, as per the bylaws — who gets us to forget about Arianny Celeste and Brittney Palmer, if only for a moment.
Winner: Rhian Sugden, the stunning (and frequently-nude) star of the U.K.’s BAMMA promotion.
Also receiving votes this year: Kelli Hutcherson, Stephanie Ann Cook, Brittany Ward, Melissa Jo

(Yeah, I can see Duffee being testosterone deficient.)

According to a story in the most recent edition of Dave Meltzer’s F4WOnline newsletter, only two fighters have received approval in Nevada for testosterone replacement therapy and one of them is 24-year-old brick shithouse, Todd Duffee. The other one is 40-year-old former PRIDE champ Dan Henderson.

On an unrelated note, besides getting older, MMAJunkie’s resident medical expert, Dr. Johnny Benjamin pointed out this week that one primary cause of abnormally low testosterone levels in otherwise healthy males is prolonged steroid use.

Meltzer says that only one fighter has received medical clearance for his use of testosterone replacement in California, but CSAC would not reveal the name of the fighter whose name rhymes with Stan Menderson.

(Propers: The Fight Nerd)

A two-for-one video sesh to get your Saturday started: At top, watch the aptly named Fight Nerd chat with M-1 Global Director of Ops Evgeni Kogan at the MMA World Expo 2010 this week. After the jump, find Chael Sonnen’s “exclusive interview” with HDNet’s Mike Straka following the California State Athletic Commission’s ruling to reduce by half his suspension for a funky UFC 117 drug test. First though, the Fedor stuff, because frankly we’re getting a little bit sick of talking about Sonnen’s gonads …

In this vid, Kogan – who you may remember as the dude who told Ariel Helwani that Fedor was MIA in New York City earlier this year when he no-showed his radio program — looks like he could seamlessly transition from a heated contract negotiation to playing bass for Weezer without even changing his striped belt. He also demonstrates that despite the fact M-1 Global’s biggest bargaining chip expended much of his political capital when he swan dived into the waiting legs of Fabricio Werdum in June, the Rent-a-Fedor company is still not afraid to make a bunch of totally ridiculous demands on both Strikeforce and Showtime. Follow the link to find out what they’re asking for this time. Seriously, it’s gonna blow your mind.

("What, the pink shirt? I need to wear it for undisclosed medical reasons." PicProps: FightNightNews)

As expected, there’s a ton of fallout today from Thursday’s California State Athletic Commission hearing, which saw Chael Sonnen’s year-long suspension for a failed UFC 117 drug test cut in half. Reactions range from pious outrage that Sonnen got let off the hook to excitement that MMA’s best trash talker will be back in the cage sooner than expected to amusement that he had to spend at least part of the hearing publicly talking about his balls. 

A lot of it was very boring and a lot of it was very strange. Sonnen referencing his late-teen puberty and citing the Americans with Disabilities Act as part of his defense were both admittedly pretty weird. All that aside, your feelings on this case probably boil down to whether or not you believe Sonnen has a legitimate, albeit sort of nebulous medical condition that requires the regular injection of testosterone. If you don’t, if you believe Sonnen, his attorneys and his doctor perpetrated a large scale fraud in front of the CSAC, God and everybody online yesterday, you’re probably pretty pissed right now. If you do believe him, then you likely think the commission’s ruling was the appropriate one. 

Honestly, our personal opinions about what happened at the meeting seem kind of beside the point right now. In my view, the thing I’m really still waiting for someone to explain is this: After his suspension is up, will Sonnen be allowed to keep fighting while receiving the same testosterone replacement therapy, so long as he does the proper paperwork next time? If so, then what are we really talking about here? A technicality? An administrative error? Sonnen got confused about to how many doctors and how many times he had to disclose his medical condition? Wow that seems, uh, dull.

(The CSAC’s "Dear Chael" letter, and proof that he listed testosterone in his medicals, not that it will help him much. Click images for larger versions.)

That eerie silence you’ve been noticing for the last couple months? That’s the sound of Chael Sonnen not talking. The formerly-outspoken middleweight contender has been mute since his UFC 117 drug test came back funky. That will change on Thursday morning, when Sonnen visits Sacramento to appeal his license suspension with the California State Athletic Commission; coincidentally, Sonnen’s case will directly follow Josh Barnett‘s long-delayed license reinstatement hearing.

FightOpinion found the entire 158-page agenda for Thursday’s session on the California Department of Consumer Affairs website, which you can see in its entirety right here. Chael-related documents take up the majority of the packet, spanning pages 33-144. A couple of noteworthy details…

(Now seems like as good a time as any to start talking. PicProps: Squabbles.com)

Though his agent said doctors didn’t know the full extent of Shane Carwin’s injuries until after he went under the knife in Colorado this week, the surgery to repair “neck, back and nerve problems” on the UFC heavyweight contender was reportedly successful. The big guy will be able to get back to contact training in 8-12 weeks and is hoping to return to action in the Octagon sometime during the Spring of 2011, according to an MMAFighting.com story out on Thursday.

"It went as good as it could have, but it was worse than we thought it was, if that makes sense …,” said Carwin agent Jason Genet. “The doctor said he was surprised Shane could compete with the damage as it was, but with the surgery, there’s no reason he won’t be able to fight and possibly even perform at a higher level. Once Shane gets back into the motions, we think it’ll be relatively quick for him to get into fighting shape. He’s not a guy who has a lot of ring rust."

Let us say without a hint of sarcasm or snark that this is great news. After Carwin had to pull out of his UFC 125 fight with Roy Nelson many of us media types were worried how extensive surgery might affect the 35-year-old, 265-plus pounder. It’s good to hear such a positive prognosis. Now, let’s address the issue everyone has been thinking about whenever we read anything about Carwin during the last few months: When can we expect the statement he promised us on that whole steroid thing?

Just a month and a half after Chael Sonnen tested positive for performance enhancing drugs following his middleweight title fight against Anderson Silva, the UFC has more dirty urine on its hands. MMA Junkie broke the news yesterday that Octagon first-timer Vinicius Quieroz — who was submitted by Rob Broughton in his debut at UFC 120 in London — tested positive for the anabolic steroid Stanozolol after the match and has been fired by the UFC.

As they usually do for overseas events, the UFC conducted its own drug screening at #120, testing main event fighters Michael Bisping and Yoshihiro Akiyama, as well as six other fighters selected at random. Quieroz was the only fighter who tested positive. In addition to his release from the promotion, the 5-2 Chute Boxe product will forfeit an undisclosed discretionary bonus from the UFC; his test results will also be given to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which could affect Quieroz’s ability to get licensed to fight in the U.S.

(Video courtesy YouTube/WorldFightProducts)

UFC lightweight-welterweight, Nate Diaz was in Toronto over the weekend for some guest appearances and I debated whether or not I should make the hour-and-a-half trek to interview him for the site, but ultimately I decided against it knowing that interviewing him is like hunting for truffles. You never know if you’re going to find anything valuable or just come home covered in mud and having wasted your day.

As you can see by the video above, which ranks in my top-ten most awkward fighter interviews of all time, the likelihood that I would have found a "truffle" were slim to none as Nate didn’t seem in the least bit interested in answering any of the interviewer’s mundane questions.

Maybe it had something to do with the guy’s habit of replying to each of Nate’s answers with "Cool!" or "Super!" or "Super Cool!" or maybe its because he and Nick are both sociopaths in the classic sense of the word.

After frantically skimming through the 473 (!) entries that came in for this week’s caption contest, we’re happy to announce a winner. So who will pick up the duffel bag stuffed full of gear from Tokyo Five? We can’t tell you that just yet. First, the honorable mentions:

(Whatever could have been done to prevent this terrible tragedy?!? PicProps: Fightertrends.com)

One of the more interesting side effects of the report this week that Chael Sonnen’s urine tested way, way too manly at UFC 117 is that pretty much everybody in the industry got the chance to weigh in on MMA’s “steroid problem.” From Bloody Elbow’s suggestion that the sport just “accept” steroids in order to regulate them to Kevin Iole’s idea that promoters start funneling money to state athletic commissions for better testing to Bas Rutten saying he’s “blown away” that guys continue to look for unfair advantages, nearly everyone old enough to have a Twitter account tossed out an opinion.

For his part, Dana White told Iole that the UFC already shells out “literally millions of dollars a year to try to prevent the steroid problem” and the promotion brings in DEA officials to “speak to the fighters about the ramification of performance enhancing drugs” at its annual fighter summit. Iole writes that White was “exasperated” to learn over the weekend that Sonnen had tested positive and Big DW sounds downright at-his-wits-end when he moans: “What else do I do?” during the article.

Hey, I’m glad he asked. What the UFC should do about steroids in MMA is actually incredibly simple (Spoiler alert: It’s not spend “literal millions” to hold an annual summit where fighters get a stern lecture) …

(Joey Beltran predicts a slugfest against Matt Mitrione during the UFC 119 Spike TV Prelims, and explains the origin of his "Mexecutioner" nickname. Props: FightMagazine)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail feedback@cagepotato.com for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…

– CSAC’s George Dodd Explains Why Chael Sonnen Was Allowed to Compete at UFC 117 (MMA Fighting)

– Chael Sonnen Plans To Appeal Drug Test + Jim Rome’s Take On Sonnen (MMA Convert)

– UFC 119: Frank Mir’s Last Run At Heavyweight Title? (Heavy.com/MMA)

– Dunham, Sherk Headed in Different Directions Leading Up to UFC 119 (Versus MMA Beat)

– This Is What Google Says About Your Favorite Fighter (MiddleEasy)

– Snowman’s Land: Jeff Monson Discusses Next Fight in Israel, Drop to Light-Heavyweight (LowKick)

– The Best Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante Highlight Reel Ever (MMA Scraps)

- Understanding Why Chael Sonnen Failed His UFC 117 Drug Test; a Procedural Look (Watch Kalib Run)

– Bas Rutten Comments on Steroid Use in Mixed Martial Arts (Five Ounces of Pain)

Last week, Vitor Belfort let us all know that instead of expecting a title shot if he defeats Yushin Okami at UFC 122, he expect[s] Jesus, bro, every day. Well, it seems that the Lord has rewarded Belfort’s devotion. The UFC’s Marshall Zelaznik confirmed today that the Belfort/Okami main event in Germany will determine the next challenger to Anderson Silva‘s middleweight belt. "Both Vitor Belfort and Yushin Okami are one win away from a shot at the UFC middleweight title and are coming to Germany with a great deal to win and lose,” Zelaznik said.

Now, we all know that the UFC 122 main event has been upgraded to an official title eliminator because Chael Sonnen pissed hot and will be suspended for up to a year. Obviously, that wasn’t mentioned in the announcement. At some point, the UFC is going to have to make some kind of public statement on the fact that their Fight of the Night-winning former #1 contender won’t be around for a while, and won’t be getting that immediate title rematch that Dana White told everyone about. But for now, promoting Belfort vs. Okami is a more pressing issue, I guess.

As for Belfort, he’s just living proof that if you put your faith in God, you’ll experience miracles. I mean, the dude who said Lance Armstrong gave himself cancer by taking steroids failed a freakin’ steroid test the next month? Honestly, who saw that coming?

(Chael’s growing bacne problem: the smoking gun? Or were the mats just not washed after Lindland used them? Image courtesy of CageWriter.)

A few notable points that have emerged since yesterday’s bombshell that Chael Sonnen tested positive for performance enhancing drugs following UFC 117…

– According to the L.A. Times’ Lance Pugmire, Sonnen tested positive for a "natural steroid" before his fight with Anderson Silva. Natural steroids, such as androstenedione and dehydroepiandrosterone, aren’t chemically altered like synthetic steroids, and can be sold over-the-counter as supplements at health food stores.

– Sonnen is facing a year-long suspension and a $2,500 fine, which he has 30 days to appeal. According to California State Athletic Commission Executive Officer George Dodd, Sonnen’s positive test emerged from a urine sample he gave before the fight that was processed through the UCLA Olympic drug-testing lab.

(PicProps: Squabbles.com)

The name of former UFC interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin appeared on a list of 22 professional athletes federal prosecutors allege obtained steroids from a Mobile, Ala.-based pharmacy between 2004-06, according to an internet report published on Friday by the Mobile Press-Register newspaper.

Carwin was among seven athletes – including pro wrestlers Kurt Angle and “Hardcore” Bob Holly as well as four professional bodybuilders – named by Assistant U.S. Attorney Donna Dobbins at the sentencing of Alabama pharmacist J. Michael Bennett. Bennett, one of five men recently found guilty of "participating in a nationwide conspiracy to illegally sell anabolic steroids," was sentenced to four years in prison, according to the report.

(Leave it to the professionals, Andy…)

A couple weeks ago, I stumbled across a Bleacher Report article titled “The Top 10 Questions Every MMA Fighter Should Be Asked.” It was written by a teenage contributor named Dale De Souza who, at that point, had only done one interview with an MMA fighter, but still felt like he’d accumulated enough wisdom to put together a guide for aspiring MMA journalists. Isn’t that adorable? For the most part, De Souza’s question suggestions are pretty standard fare if you’re interviewing an up-and-comer that fans don’t know much about, and you don’t mind being unoriginal. (i.e., “How did you get into the sport?” “Which team are you training with in preparation for your next bout?” “Do you like to stand with your opponents or take them to the ground?”)

As the founding editor of CagePotato.com, I’ve been interviewing MMA fighters for nearly three years, and through trial and error, I’ve learned a lot about what not to ask during fighter interviews. Dale will learn this stuff in time, but to save him (and others like him) a lot of heartbreak, uncomfortable silences, and dull articles, I’ve put together a list of my own. Read on, and avoid these interview questions at all costs…

1. Will you choke me out?/Will you kick me in the leg?
Don’t do it. It’s been done, and you might end up in the hospital. You’ll have to find another way to make your name by humiliating yourself. (By the way, barfing on camera has also been done.)

2. What’s your gameplan for [opponent's name]?
As it turns out, very few fighters are willing to publicly reveal what they’re planning to do to their opponents, in specific detail; go figure. So don’t expect a satisfying response to this question. Most of the time, you’ll get some variation of “I’m just gonna focus on what I do best, and try to show everybody what I’m capable of.” Boooooooring.

(Ken Shamrock on steroids? Stop the presses!)

The revelation of a UFC Hall of Famer’s past steroid use promised by HDNet’s “Inside MMA” became pretty anticlimactic on Friday when the fighter in question turned out to be Ken Shamrock. While Shamrock’s taped interview during a segment of the show called “Fighting Words with Mike Straka” marked his first public admission of cheating, the MMA pioneer has long been rumored to dabble in the juice and tested positive for banned substances following his most recent victory –  a submission win over the now-deceased Ross Clifton in Feb. of 2009  — so the news came as a surprise to exactly no one.

More interesting than the actual confession were Shamrock’s contentions that steroids are so easy to get it’s “like going to the grocery store,” and that fans should shoulder at least some of the responsibility for athletes turning to performance enhancers.

(Kos and Georges enjoy their first staredown on the ‘Ultimate Fighter’ set. Props: twitter.com/ufc)

Now that TUF 12 has started taping, it’s time for Josh Koscheck to start building heat for his December fight against Georges St-Pierre — and he’s following the Floyd Mayweather playbook to the letter. In a story posted last night on MMA Junkie, Koscheck breathed new life into the steroid accusations first brought up by BJ Penn:

"From what I’ve heard from other fighters in other camps, yeah, [St-Pierre] has done steroids and HGH, possibly. I don’t know. This is just on hearsay information that I’ve gotten…B.J. Penn and his camp gave me a little phone call. They were saying, ‘Yeah, he’s on steroids. He’s this; he’s that.’ I said, ‘Yeah, there’s a possibility.’ The guy is pretty ripped all year round…I think Olympic-style testing would be great for our sport. At least you do it a couple times out from the fight. I think it will be a great idea."

Olympic-style drug testing involves taking blood, which is more effective than the standard urine tests used by athletic commissions because it allows for the identification of a greater range of P.E.D.’s, including human growth hormone. But Koscheck’s first attempt at getting one over on St-Pierre was unfruitful, as the champ shook off the accusations without getting too upset, and said he’s down with any testing they throw at him:

(The phrase "brick shit-house" comes to mind.)

As first reported by Sherdog, Strikeforce heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem has tested negative — that’s right, negative — for anabolic steroids and drugs of abuse, based on independent testing administered by the promotion, so you can stop making snide remarks every time you see him at GNC. It’s a vindication not just for Overeem’s reputation, but for the reputation of horse meat as a viable source of protein in an athlete’s diet. (If only this country wasn’t so closed-minded, you know? We’d all be eating horses, swelling up to 265, and beating the living crap out of people. I digress, but seriously, LIFT THE BAN.)

Said Scott Coker: “When the commission [in Missouri] said they’d only be random testing, I didn’t want there to be an ounce of doubt and have all these critics say, ‘Ah, Alistair didn’t get tested, Feijao didn’t get tested.’" Thus, every fighter was subject to in-house testing the night before Heavy Artillery. Antonio Silva, Joey Villasenor, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante and Antwain Britt also passed their drug tests; results are still pending for Brett Rogers, Andrei Arlovski, Roger Gracie, and Kevin Randleman. Let’s hope Kevin didn’t try the old "urine from a live animal or dead human" trick again.

(Horsemeat is a helluva drug.)

In an interview with MMANews.com‘s Chris Howie, Alistair Overeem flatly denies that his growth spurt over the past three years is attributed to the use of performance enhancers such as anabolic steroids, testosterone or growth hormone.

The Dutch-born K-1 standout, who made the jump to the heavyweight class in 2008 fighting just over the minimum weight and now tips the weigh-in scale at approximately 255 pounds the day before his bouts, says that his increase in muscle mass is a result of his diet and weight training regimens.

(If you can’t beat [a drug test], join [a Japanese pro-wrestling organization])

Zach Arnold over at FightOpinion.com dug up an interesting story on where embattled former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett is fighting next.

It turns out that "The Babyfaced Assassin," who was denied licensure in California last year due to a positive steroid test prior to his Affliction showdown with Fedor Emelianenko and was subsequently blamed for the promotion’s collapse by its president Tom Attencio, is stepping away from MMA and is going back to his pro wrestling roots. Barnett is said to have signed a longterm deal to "compete" under retired Japanese MMA fighter, pro wrestler and onetime Muhammad Ali opponent Antonio Inoki’s IGF (Inoki Genome Federation) banner in Japan.

 
(More pics here. Props to FightOpinion for the tip.)

Josh Barnett‘s appeal of his denial of licensure in the state of California was postponed for a fourth time yesterday, after Barnett failed to show up to the hearing. The Babyface Assassin had a good excuse, though — he was busy beating down Bob Sapp at an Inoki Genome Federation pro-wrestling event in Tokyo. Though Barnett’s attorney appeared at the hearing, it wasn’t good enough for the California State Athletic Commission, which rescheduled his case until April 20th. Said Barnett’s attorney, Michael J. DiMaggio:

(Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

According to MMA Fanhouse, WEC featherweight prospect Cole Province has tested positive for the designer anabolic steroid Methasterone, following his unanimous decision win over Fredson Paixao at WEC 42:

The 28-year-old Oklahoma native is the fourth MMA fighter to test positive for steroids this year — following Kirill Sidelnikov, Ken Shamrock, and Josh Barnett — but just the first fighter to piss dirty in Nevada since Kit Cope in January 2007. Province only made six grand for his recent win, and will likely be giving up a sizable chunk of it to the NSAC. We’ll update the definitive timeline as soon as we learn more about Province’s punishment and response.

Related: All fighters who competed at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg tested clean for "drugs of abuse." Results from steroid tests will come back in three to four weeks.

(Props: solidsnakebite via Reggadi)

And all this time, we thought Fedor Emelianenko was a humble dude, without a bad word to say about anybody. Well, this is what happens when you push him too far. In the above clip, Fedor and his M-1 cronies tell us how they really feel about the UFC’s paper champion. But at least they can keep a sense of humor about it. If only Hitler shared the same attitude…