Since UFC heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem was popped for having elevated testosterone levels, it seems as if almost everyone has offered their opinion on the subject; everyone but the main players in the drama. At this point, we have not heard from the UFC, nor have we heard from Alistair Overeem, and until recently, we had not heard from Junior dos Santos.
As the man that is scheduled to defend his UFC heavyweight title against Overeem in the main event of UFC 146, his thoughts on Overeem’s drug test and the upcoming fight should be heard.
Dos Santos did take a shot at Overeem via Twitter shortly after it was revealed that Overeem’s testosterone-to-epitestosterone levels were 14:1, far above the allowable limits of the Nevada State Athletic Commission:
After that tweet, Dos Santos was silent on the subject.
Recently, that changed when Dos Santos spoke to Tatame.com about the possibility of facing Overeem knowing that he tested for such high levels of testosterone:
If the Athletic Committee and UFC want to, I’ll fight him. I’m a fighter and I’ll always be there to fight, but it sure is disrespectful to MMA and how serious the sport is. It’s also unfair, it’s unfair to me. I have never used these devices to gain strength.
Overeem has filed for a license to fight Dos Santos on the May 26 fight card, which will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. The hearing for that license will take place on April 24 in Las Vegas.
Opting to have a hearing is a somewhat risky proposition for Overeem. If he is not granted that license, he won’t be able to apply for another license to fight in Nevada for a year. With the UFC honoring the NSAC’s decisions across all of their events, Overeem, if he would remain under the employ of the UFC, would effectively be forced to sit on the sidelines for that year. Not an ideal situation for a fighter that joined the UFC and immediately sent former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar into retirement.
If Overeem is licensed, expect the fight to go on as planned. If he is not licensed, the UFC will not have a very long time to find a replacement to face Dos Santos. With that being said, they should not have a problem on that front, as Frank Mir, Mark Hunt and Dan Henderson have all expressed interest in taking the fight.
For his part Dos Santos did not seem thrilled about the prospect of fighting and possibly losing to Overeem:
“In case I lose, it’s unfair. He won’t have fought better than me, he will have fought on drugs.”
The NSAC can license Overeem and the fight can go on as planned. To be honest, if he is licensed, the fight needs to take place; there’s no reason that it shouldn’t. However, a license from the NSAC won’t alleviate the concerns of Dos Santos or those of many fans that will feel that Overeem will enter the Octagon with an unfair advantage.
Yes, Overeem will most likely be tested before and after UFC 146, but even if he passes those tests, in the minds of many, a win over Dos Santos will be tainted. There’s just no way to avoid that thought from creeping into the minds of MMA fans.
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