Well you can rule out a failed drug test as one of the reasons for Nate Marquardt’s dismissal from Sunday’s UFC on Versus 4 event, and his subsequent removal from the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Immediately after the announcement on Saturday that Marquardt was being pulled out of the headliner against Rick Story, fans and media alike began speculating on the reason for his removal. Many jumped to the conclusion that Marquardt had problems making weight, but the fighters camp posted a video of him weighing in at 172.6 lbs the morning of the weigh-ins disproving those theories.
With that cleared up, the next conclusion for a “failed medical clearance” would lead one to think Marquardt had tested positive for PED’s (Performance Enhancing Drugs).
Well that theory too was blown out of the water on Monday by Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission exec Greg Sirb, who explained to MMAFighting.com that Marquardt was licensed and simply had to clear up the “outstanding issue” to compete on Sunday night.
Sirb even notes that if it had been a failed drug test, the commission “would have said, ‘drug test.’”
Now MMAFighting.com has been kind enough to list a few of the medical issues a fighter must receive clearance for to fight. I bolded the area that I personally feel might be reason enough for a fighter to get kicked out of the UFC with no questions asked, especially if they failed to disclose the information until the last minute.
According to the commission’s website, while in the course of applying for a license, a professional fighter must provide a negative HIV, Hepatits C and Hepatitis B surface antigen exam. They must also provide the results of an annual medical exam. That exam is wide-ranging and covers potential issues related to vision, lungs, heart rate, the nervous system, coordination and more that could disqualify a fighter from competition. In addition, there is language in the regulations that offers the commission the latitude to request other exams. The stated medical requirements are similar to those of other states, including Nevada and New Jersey.
All of the test aforementioned results are considered the fighter’s private medical information and kept confidential under federal HIPAA laws. Federal or Pennsylvania state law does not, however, prohibit disclosure of a positive drug test result, nor the type of drug which led to a confirmed positive test.
Marquardt is supposed to address the issue personally on Tuesday, so for now it’s all merely pure speculation till he reveals the problem.