Author: A.J. Perez

Steroids Test MMA’s Resolve

Filed under: FanHouse ExclusiveEight weeks out from a UFC title fight, an injured ankle put Hermes Franca in a bind and he thought the only remedy was in a steroid-filled syringe.

“I came here from Brazil with $300 in my pocket and I was working hard …

Filed under:

Eight weeks out from a UFC title fight, an injured ankle put Hermes Franca in a bind and he thought the only remedy was in a steroid-filled syringe.

“I came here from Brazil with $300 in my pocket and I was working hard for all my dreams to come true,” the mixed martial arts fighter said. “But my body was all (messed) up. I wasn’t able to train. It was a mistake, but I felt I couldn’t say ‘no.’ “

Instead of passing up a title bout with Sean Sherk at UFC 73 in July 2007 for what would have been the biggest payday of his career, Franca began taking the steroid Drostanolone. Franca lost the fight via unanimous decision, but any victory would have been short lived, as a post-fight drug test mandated by the California State Athletic Commission discovered the steroid in his system. Ironically, his opponent Sherk also flunked his test, which found that his natural Nandralone level far exceeded what the body can produce naturally.

One fight. Two positives. No title awarded.

Death in the Cage: The Michael Kirkham Story

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Dennis Kirkham only saw footage of his youngest son’s mixed martial arts bouts once.

“The guy beat the heck out of the back of Michael’s head to the point where it was beet red,” Kirkham told FanHouse. “The other fighter was warn…

Michael KirkhamFAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Dennis Kirkham only saw footage of his youngest son’s mixed martial arts bouts once.

“The guy beat the heck out of the back of Michael’s head to the point where it was beet red,” Kirkham told FanHouse. “The other fighter was warned two or three times by the referee.”

Michael Kirkham lost that amateur fight in Columbia, S.C., on April 24 via a technical knockout, a bout he lamented on Facebook should have resulted in the disqualification of his opponent. Kirkham was given an automatic 30-day medical suspension for the TKO loss, but it doesn’t appear that he followed up with a doctor.

Two days after the suspension ended, Kirkham — known to his friends here in the Carolinas as “Tree” due to his 6-foot-9, 155-pound frame — suffered a brain hemorrhage in his pro debut at the University of South Carolina Aiken Convocation Center on June 26. He died two days later at the age of 30.

“I told him he wasn’t ready,” Dennis Kirkham said. “He said, ‘I’m fine, dad. I’m OK.'”