(Means puts the stamp on John Howard. via Getty)
Welterweight Tim Means might be best known for once getting KO’d by a sauna, but it turns out that he’s actually a pretty talented fighter in his own right (and boasts one of the best nicknames in the game to boot). Since returning to the UFC in 2014, “The Dirty Bird” has put together a respectable 5-2 record, with wins over TUF 19 finalist Dhiego Lima and George Sullivan among others.
Fresh off a second round starching of John Howard at Fight Night 80 in December, Means was set to welcome Donald Cerrone to the welterweight division at Fight Night 83 later this month in a fight that had “fireworks” written all over it. Unfortunately for us, Means’ recent out-of-competition test happened to have FAILURE written all over it as well, resulting in “The Dirty Bird” being pulled from the card and yet another main event being placed in jeopardy.
The news of Means’ positive test broke earlier today, and as is usually the case, the man himself seemed more caught off guard by the results than anyone else, tweeting, “Fucccck that came out of left field! @usantidoping. Never even heard of ostarine! Look at my physic (sic). Do I look like a steroid user! Lol.”
Well, at least he’s not that broken up about it, although his classic “physique test” defense has been disproven about a million times over by now.
The UFC released a statement on Means’ failure earlier today via their website, if you’re interested in that sort of thing.
The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Tim Means of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection.
USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case. It is important to note that, under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full and fair review process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed. However, because Means was scheduled to compete against Donald Cerrone on February 21 in Pittsburgh, there is insufficient time for a full review and proper promotion before the scheduled bout. As a result, UFC will announce shortly a replacement opponent for Cerrone on the UFC Fight Night card in Pittsburgh.
Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.
But before you go throwing your hands in the air and cursing the MMA Gods for reducing another UFC card to rubble, there is hope.
According to Ariel Helwani, the UFC has booked a quick replacement for the February 28th-scheduled event in the form of Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira. Currently 3-1 in the UFC, Oliveira has scored wins over the likes of KJ Noons and Piotr Hallman, suffering his only setback to highly-touted prospect Gilbert Burns in his promotional debut.
The fight will still be contested at welterweight, according to those in the know, and should serve as an interesting for Cerrone, who will be attempting to rebound from a devastating first round loss to lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC on FOX 17. In any case, it seems another disaster has been avoided for now, at least.
Predictions, please.
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