Having six heavyweight fighters in one place proved to be an opportune time for the Nevada State Athletic Commission to administer out of competition drug tests. With Junior dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, Frank Mir, Cain Velasquez, Roy Nelson and Antonio Silva on the dais at the MGM Grand on March 27, the NSAC brought tests to the fighters.
As NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer told MMAFighting, “We brought the drug test to them instead of making them go to the drug test. If they were not in Las Vegas, I would need to find them a lab, which is of course, much more of a hassle.”
While the testing was not a hassle for the NSAC, the results created some big problems for the UFC as Alistair Overeem’s testosterone to epitestosterone ratio came in far above the allowable six to one limit. That test result put the main event of UFC 146, a title fight between UFC champion Dos Santos and Overeem in jeopardy.
Since that announcement, speculation has run rampant as to who would compete against Dos Santos for the title. Almost immediately, Frank Mir threw his hat into the ring offering his services. Shortly after that, a twitter campaign began supporting the idea of getting Mark Hunt into the heavyweight title bout.
Both Mir and Hunt are booked on the UFC 146 card, which is set to take place on May 26. Mir is scheduled to face Cain Velasquez in a bout that was originally set to determine the next No. 1 contender for the heavyweight crown. For his part, Hunt is booked to face Stefan Struve.
The UFC has been silent on the subject of possible replacements for Overeem, who has yet to be officially removed from the card.
While the UFC has not offered any comment, UFC president Dana White has answering a tweet:
It’s an interesting comment from White, but one should not read too much into that answer. As what seems to be missing is a date or fight card. Has White thrown fans a red herring or is he setting the table for a big announcement to come?
Stay tuned to Bleacher Report MMA for further developments on UFC 146.
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