(Overeem likes his pecs like his K-1 trophies: abnormally large.)
On a recent episode of Inside MMA, commentators Joe Rogan and Michael Schiavello sat down alongside Josh Barnett to discuss the topic that has thrown the MMA world into chaos over the past few days: Alistair Overeem’s positive drug test. Barnett wisely chose to remain silent for the duration of the conversation, likely because his last positive test was responsible for destroying the Afflicition promotion before it could spend itself into its own grave.
But it was Schiavello, a long time friend of Overeem, who took an interesting stance on the issue, basically saying that, if a fighter pisses hot anytime other than fight week, why should they be held accountable? Yeah, it sounds as bad as it is:
You know, while we’re talking about the subject, Kenny, I just wanna chime in here on a couple things that have been playing on my mind, the last week or so, since the news of Alistair (Overeem) broke. Alistair doesn’t have a license with the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), so how are they testing him in the first place when he doesn’t have a license with them? By what jurisdiction are they testing him? And ‘B,’ everyone seems to be hanging Alistair out to dry. They’ve been nailing him to the cross and crucifying him, but it’s still two months away from his fight. You know, he hasn’t technically cheated. Because, unless he pisses hot on the fight night, how could he possibly have cheated? There’s still an opportunity he can get from the 14:1 down to the allowed 6:1 level by fight time. But we’re calling him out as a cheat, two months out from a fight?
Yes, Michael, we are calling him a cheat. Probably because he fucking cheated. Check out the video below and let us know what you think.
You see Michael, just because someone isn’t cheating at the exact time of their scheduled fight doesn’t mean that they should be allowed to freely and openly cheat in the off-season without repercussion. It’s like saying that someone shouldn’t be able to get a DWI if they aren’t holding a beer in their hand the moment a cop pulls them over. Would that be awesome? Of course, but it would result in a hell of a lot more accidents and deaths on the highway. Just like allowing certain fighters to use PED’s during training and step into the octagon against fighters who, you know, actually have some moral compass and want to try and win the natural way would result in the same. And let’s not even delve into how easy it is to cycle off steroids when one knows the test is coming. Bas Rutten backs this argument, so there is really nothing left to say.
But perhaps no criticism of Overeem’s horse-flavored piss was greater than that of Mark Hunt. As we all know, Hunt has been rallying to replace Overeem against Junior Dos Santos via Twitter-blitzkrieg lately, and has received widespread support from the MMA community, so perhaps his recent statements on The MMA Hour had ulterior motives behind them. In either case, when asked his thoughts on Overeem’s positive test, he went as far as to question the validity of Overeem’s entire career:
Drugs in all sports is a big problem. It’s a cutthroat business, people take this shit just to get by. I don’t use that shit, but when Alistair takes that shit or whoever takes it they just screw themselves out. Like when Barnett screwed himself out of the fight with Fedor. But who am I too judge anybody. I don’t take that shit and no one else should. If they do, that’s on them, Alistair got caught,that’s his problem and now he’s dealing with it and everything that Alistair has done is meaningless now. At the end of the day he just got caught cheating, so what’s the deal? I lost to him, so did he use that shit when I was fighting him? That’s on him, he has to live with that shit not me. It’s not my position to judge him, he has to look himself in the mirror. At the end of the day, I don’t give a crap who’s taking what. The steroids are not going to help them when I hit them. Take as much as you like, I don’t care.
It’s safe to say that if you haven’t gotten behind the #RallyforMarkHunt campaign yet, you can eat a bag of dicks. Other notable reactions from around the MMA world include:
Former UFC fighter Jason High, who tweeted: “LMAO…Overeem. Almost as surprising as the Cyborg incident. *looks for sarcasm font*”
Roy Nelson, who took the sarcastic approach: “yea! just found via internet that I PASSED MY DRUG TEST! It was close but I passed. #Nodoubts @ufc @danawhite“
And Joe Duarte, who went with a classic standby: ” ‘It wasn’t me, it was the horses, I swear!’ – Alistair Overeem”
All kidding aside, depending on the outcome of Overeem’s scheduled NSAC hearing on April 24th, it looks like it will be the fans, especially those who’ve already purchased UFC 146 tickets, who will be getting screwed as a result of Overeem’s insolence. Now that the California State Athletic Commission is pushing for the legal, therapeutic exemption of testosterone, we can only expect to see more elevated T/E levels, and the issues therein, in the future.
-J. Jones