(In a rare misstep for Guida, he had no idea that the beer bong he was offered actually contained Four Loko. There were no survivors.)
It seems that you can’t come across an MMA interview these days that doesn’t bring up the Alistair Overeem situation. The phrase “testosterone replacement therapy” has been thrown around in more MMA blogs within the past month than the name “Tim Tebow” on your average Sportscenter episode, and that’s saying something. Is it a coincidence that both phrases emphasize the “T” sound? We think not.
Being the laid back, no worries, Winnebago-loving kind of guy that Clay Guida is, he was much more willing to forgive Overeem when speaking to MMAWeekly about the situation yesterday, believing that a lot of the blame should be placed on that of his coaches. And in case you’re wondering, he managed to relate the situation to the lion-esque mange that sits atop his head:
Yeah, Alistair not knowing that there is testosterone in his vitamins, is like me not knowing what kind of conditioner I’m putting in my hair. I’m not going to put the complete blame on him, I’m going to put it on his coaches, and, maybe not his team necessarily, but his trainer and this and that and whoever maybe slipped him a Mickey or whatever you want to call it. I’m a fan of the guy, don’t get me wrong, but, I think they had plans elsewhere or whatever it may be, but, it’s a bummer that the main event in one of the biggest cards of the year is going to be kind of tampered with, just because you know, they got careless and maybe they didn’t have all the belief in themselves, so. I just stick with my regular stuff. The fruits and vegetables, fish oils, glucose and stuff like that you know? I’ve never been big on supplements on stuff like that you know? I just take natural stuff.
Fish oil, eh? And here we thought he was drinking whiskey shooters and vodka cranberries this whole time.
It turns out that fellow lightweight contender Mark Bocek, ever the stickler, was not too pleased that Overeem received only 9 months for his botched surprise drug test, going as far as to say that any fighter needing TRT (or marijuana for that matter), shouldn’t be fighting in the first place:
There’s definitely got to be some type of punishment. You can put any twist on it want. I’m no doctor, I just think if your doctor’s telling you you need to be on TRT and you need to be on medical marijuana, you shouldn’t be fighting. He wasn’t under license at the time, he’s trying to flee the building over another series of testing, it makes you wonder about everyone else. I would think one year punishment for a guy like Overeem.
I think it’s a problem in every division. I think it’s just kind of become part of the sport. Definitely random testing could change or fix that. As you see with Overeem, he really wasn’t expecting that but it’s a part of any sport really. Any Olympic sport as well.
Although I personally disagree with Bocek’s stance on marijuana use in MMA — it in no way affects an MMA fighter’s performance, nor should it matter what a fighter does to ensure his own mental well-being in the off-season — you can’t deny that random drug testing would be the cure-all for these repeated infractions of the rules. Like Guida said, Overeem’s ignorance hits the fans, especially those who purchased tickets to UFC 146 prior to Overeem’s drug test debacle, the hardest, unless they’re die hard Frank Mir fans, of course. And if the Zuffa brass is worried about possible fighter backlash, we imagine Hector Lombard would quickly volunteer for the role of D.A.R.E officer.
Whose side are you on, Potato Nation?
-J. Jones