The B-movie horror flick that was Bellator 149 somehow just got a little scarier and a little more embarrassing.
Main event fighter Ken Shamrock and co-main event fighter Kimbo Slice both failed a drug test for steroids, with Shamrock also testing positive for the opioid methadone in advance of the Feb. 19 event. That’s according to a report on Monday from Marc Raimondi of MMA Fighting, who obtained the test results through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
News of the test failures broke earlier in March, but Monday’s report revealed the banned substances involved, per Jason Floyd of The MMA Report:
Kimbo Slice tested positive for nandrolone and T/E ration was 6.4 (legal limit is 4.0) per lab reports released by state of Texas
— Jason Floyd (@Jason_Floyd) March 21, 2016
It’s not what you’d call a good look for anyone involved, including Bellator, which declined to comment. Bellator 149 was the latest in a series of cards unabashedly topped by novelty or “freak show” fights featuring high-profile but aged and/or less than elite competitors.
There’s no question Bellator is the top promotional competitor to the Goliath that is the UFC and has plenty of talented fighters in its stable.
Those talented fighters, however, have arguably just a fraction of the name recognition of the UFC’s top stars, and as such, Bellator is using a sideshow approach to attract eyeballs to its tentpole events.
It’s an understandable strategy. Sometimes, it can even be fun.
But in retrospect, Bellator 149 seemed to take a step or 12 over the line. In the evening’s main event, Shamrock, 52, lost his third fight to UFC 1 tournament champion Royce Gracie, 49. Gracie won by knockout in just over two minutes. Before Bellator 149, the two last fought each other in 1995.
That brings us to the co-main event of the evening. In that little doozy, Slice, 42, took on Dhafir Harris, 38, known to most as Dada 5000.
Like Slice (real name Kevin Ferguson), Dada gained a measure of fame for himself as a kingpin of Miami’s underground street-fighting scene, some installments of which made their way to YouTube and viral success.
In a fight that drew widespread Internet laughter while being widely panned as one of the worst in MMA history, Dada collapsed to the mat in the third round, and the bout was called a TKO for Slice.
A visibly exhausted Dada was unable to get up under his own power and was subsequently taken to a local hospital. It was no big deal, said Team Dada. Just a little “renal failure” for a guy who experienced a huge “weight loss” in advance of the fight. Just a little precautionary observation. He’ll be out in no time.
One day turned into one week. Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter (h/t NESN.com) reported that his heart had stopped and he nearly died.
All of a sudden, it wasn’t funny anymore.
Dada left the hospital on March 3 and thankfully appears to be on the road to recovery.
But not long after came the news of the drug test failures, then the substances involved. This wasn’t marijuana or a banned diuretic.
These were hardcore steroids and an opioid whose most famous application is as an aid for withdrawal from stronger opioids like heroin. Methadone is also used a pain reliever, and there is no indication of why Shamrock may have had the substance in his system.
Exact punishments for Slice and Shamrock are pending, but the maximum penalties in Texas for drug test failures are a 90-day suspension and $5,000 fine. Neither of those are what you’d call a punitive book-throwing, especially given the substances involved.
For now, this news is just another black mark on a card that has gotten so marked up as to lose all recognition.
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