(Oh, have I got your attention now? Good.)
When rumors started flying that Alistair Overeem had failed his pre-fight drug test for UFC 141, therefore ruining his chances to participate in one of the biggest heavyweight matches of all time, there weren’t many of us who were quick to defend him. The fact is, despite Alistair never testing positive for steroids, his Incredible-Hulkian transformation from this guy to this guy has tested our beliefs as to exactly how much bulk one can add without the use of juice.
And when Alistair was only granted a conditional license by the Nevada State Athletic Commission due to his urine sample being over three weeks late, it only steepened the hill to which the rumor snowball was careening down. So, you can imagine our surprise when Alistair told Yahoo Sports that he felt there should be more drug testing in MMA:
I’ll be tested four times in three weeks this month, so after this, there cannot be any more doubts. The thing is, I’ve fought in the States before and every time I got tested, I’ve never tested positive. So I don’t where all [the speculation about steroid use] is coming from. I’m too focused on my career, and I don’t really pay attention to these messages. I cannot judge other fighters, though of course sometimes you have your suspicions. Do I think testing should be [done] more [frequently]? Yes, I do think it should be done more, but I think it should be applied to all athletes and not just a randomly select few.
As much as we agree with you, Mr. Ubereem, it is shocking to hear such a statement come from the horse’s mouth *snicker* nonetheless. It would be like if Timothy McVeigh began campaigning for a harsher form of the death penalty in the late 90′s. But considering Overeem’s clean record up to this point, perhaps he has just as much a right as any to call for more extensive and frequent drug testing in the sport.
For now, we will just have to put those issues aside and watch the real life version of King Kong vs. Godzilla, which goes down at UFC 141 on December 30th from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
So, what say you, Potato Nation, is it just a matter of time until Alistair eats his words, or should we stop beating this dead horse?
-Danga
By the way, the above image, which you may or may not recognize, is from the 1992 film, Glengarry Glen Ross. If you have yet to see it, I highly recommend renting it from your local video store, if only to witness Alec Baldwin’s cameo, which is likely the inspiration behind 90 percent of Chael Sonnen’s infamous one-liners.