In the sport of MMA there are plenty of fighters who fall under the banner of being ‘bad boys,’ but let’s not forget that there are ‘bad girls’ out there too.
In this article, we’ll take a look at 10 of today’s most notorious fighters in WMMA, from the outspoken trash-talkers and troublemakers through to the steroid cheats and the former ‘wild childs’ trying to put their murky past behind them.
Carina Damm
Nearly 14 years into her MMA career, Carina Damm, sister of former UFC fighter Rodrigo Damm, is a true veteran of the sport, having fought for the likes of Strikeforce, Jungle Fights and most recently Titan FC.
However, the 39-year-old ‘Beauty But The Beast’ also holds the dubious distinction of being the first-ever female MMA fighter to test positive for steroids.
Damm popped for the banned anabolic steroid nandrolone back in 2008 after her first fight in the United States at FFF4, where she had defeated her opponent via a second-round armbar submission.
She was subsequently banned for a year, though Damm continued to fight back home in Brazil in the mean time.
However, Damm would again run into trouble when she was caught attempting to submit a fake urine sample following a loss to Jessica Eye at NFAAS 9 in 2013, which was quickly spotted due to the fact it was reportedly ‘clear’ and ‘cold’.
Damm was subsequently suspended for 6 months, leaving her reputation further tarnished.
Carina “Barbie” Damm has been fined and suspended for six months by the Ohio Athletic Commission for submitting an invalid urine sample prior to her recent fight in the state. Damm dropped a Unanimous Decision to Jessica “Evil” Eye at NAAFS: “Fight Night In The Flats 9” on June 1st in Cleveland.
OAC Executive Director Bernie Profato discussed the suspension with MMARising.com today. During pre-fight testing, Damm submitted a sample that was determined to be a substance other than urine. She has incurred a $550 fine in addition to the suspension, but is able to appeal the ruling…
During an intermission at the NAAFS event, just prior to the two title fights and main event bout between Eye and Damm, all six remaining fighters on the card were required to submit to pre-fight drug testing. Each sample came back clean for banned substances, but there were irregularities with Damm’s. The lab conducted a second test on the sample and verified that it was in fact not urine.
(Carina Damm: Continuing to break down boundaries for female fighters. Photo via Folha Vitoria)
Carina “Barbie” Damm has been fined and suspended for six months by the Ohio Athletic Commission for submitting an invalid urine sample prior to her recent fight in the state. Damm dropped a Unanimous Decision to Jessica “Evil” Eye at NAAFS: “Fight Night In The Flats 9” on June 1st in Cleveland.
OAC Executive Director Bernie Profato discussed the suspension with MMARising.com today. During pre-fight testing, Damm submitted a sample that was determined to be a substance other than urine. She has incurred a $550 fine in addition to the suspension, but is able to appeal the ruling…
During an intermission at the NAAFS event, just prior to the two title fights and main event bout between Eye and Damm, all six remaining fighters on the card were required to submit to pre-fight drug testing. Each sample came back clean for banned substances, but there were irregularities with Damm’s. The lab conducted a second test on the sample and verified that it was in fact not urine.
“For the chain of command here, we only have one woman inspector,” Profato told MMARising.com. “We really need to get women to go in there [to monitor the urine test], so we had someone who was not an employee of the state but was an unbiased person who had worked for another promotional company. Her statement to me for the chain of custody was that they went in there and she heard [Damm urinating] into the toilet, which didn’t make any sense, but Damm took the [filled] cup and put it on the counter.
“That person then got the cup, and our doctor was waiting right outside the door and she handed it to the doctor,” Profato added. “He sealed it, labelled it and took it over to me. I took it to the lab and released it to them. It was sent to the laboratory for testing. There has to be certain elements in [the sample] in order for it to be considered urine and those elements were not in it. So what we suspended her for is for failing to provide a urine or blood sample. Even the doctor, when he first handed the sample to me, he said, ‘I’m not a lab person, but two things here. One, this is kind of clear, and two, it’s cold!’”
Under OAC law, any fighter who fails a drug test must then pay for the costs of the testing. Damm was suspended for violating Rule 3773-1-12 (F) of the OAC Administrative Codes and incurred a base fine of $300. She will be required to pay an additional $250 to cover the costs of both the first and second lab tests on the sample that she provided.
“The suspension that we’ve given her initially is for six months,” Profato explains. “We sent her a certified letter and she can appeal. We tentatively have a hearing set up for her on August 13th at 10:00 A.M. She can call or contact us if she would like to have the hearing…
Damm returned to Brazil and fought two weeks after her loss to Eye. She defeated Jessica Suelen by first-round TKO on June 15th. Damm is scheduled to face Kalindra Faria in a rematch in the opening round of the MMA Super Heroes women’s flyweight grand prix on July 13th. Promotions in Brazil are not obligated to honour Damm’s OAC suspension, but she will be unable to compete in any ABC member state until her suspension has been lifted or expires.
Damm joins Josh Barnett, Kimo Leopoldo, and Stephan Bonnar in the short list of MMA fighters who have blown drug tests on more than one occasion, so at least she’s in good company. By the way, props to NAAFS for springing drug tests on its fighters during an intermission at the event; I bet Carina was shitting a brick as she scooped up toilet water to use as her “urine sample.” Now if you’ll exucse me, I have a timeline to update…
“On This Day in MMA History” pays tribute to some of the more bizarre and infamous news stories of MMA’s past. The following article was originally published on May 15th, 2008, five years ago today.
It’s almost always a good thing to be the first woman to do something. That’s because usually, if a woman hasn’t done that thing yet, it means that it’s either really hard or men have been real jerks about it and kept women out like ten-year-olds with a clubhouse. Well, Brazilian Carina Damm just etched her name in the record books by becoming the first female MMA figher to test positive for steroids. That is not the clubhouse you want to be hanging out in. Not unless you love powerlifting and back acne.
Sherdog reported today that Damm tested positive for Nandrolone (that’s right, the same thing Sean Sherk tested positive for) after her April 3 victory over Sophie Bagherdai at Femme Fatale Fighting 4 in Los Angeles. This news comes at a particularly bad time for Damm, since she was recently signed to take on Debi Purcell on an Elite XC card on June 27. Purcell seemed annoyed, though not surprised by the news.
“It was obvious she was doing it [steroids], but I was just going to out-cardio and out-muscle her anyways. I’ve been lifting for my whole life, everyday for I don’t know how many years. People have accused me of doing steroids because I have muscles, which isn’t fair. But you can’t go have a normal body and two months later be huge.”
“On This Day in MMA History” pays tribute to some of the more bizarre and infamous news stories of MMA’s past. The following article was originally published on May 15th, 2008, five years ago today.
It’s almost always a good thing to be the first woman to do something. That’s because usually, if a woman hasn’t done that thing yet, it means that it’s either really hard or men have been real jerks about it and kept women out like ten-year-olds with a clubhouse. Well, Brazilian Carina Damm just etched her name in the record books by becoming the first female MMA figher to test positive for steroids. That is not the clubhouse you want to be hanging out in. Not unless you love powerlifting and back acne.
Sherdog reported today that Damm tested positive for Nandrolone (that’s right, the same thing Sean Sherk tested positive for) after her April 3 victory over Sophie Bagherdai at Femme Fatale Fighting 4 in Los Angeles. This news comes at a particularly bad time for Damm, since she was recently signed to take on Debi Purcell on an Elite XC card on June 27. Purcell seemed annoyed, though not surprised by the news.
“It was obvious she was doing it [steroids], but I was just going to out-cardio and out-muscle her anyways. I’ve been lifting for my whole life, everyday for I don’t know how many years. People have accused me of doing steroids because I have muscles, which isn’t fair. But you can’t go have a normal body and two months later be huge.”
If you’re wondering whether Damm might be a victim of the faulty testing procedures that Sherk is considering suing the CSAC over…there’s something you should know. The “normal” level of Nandrolone in a person is 2 ng/mL. An athlete participating in “vigorous activity” can legally get away with 6 ng/mL. When Sherk tested positive, it was with 12 ng/mL in his system. Carina Damm tested at 37.9 ng/mL. Now that’s how you fail a steroid test, people.
Am I the only one thinking this may help Sean Sherk? A female fighter fails the test with three times the Nandrolone levels that he had, that makes you wonder what a positive test really looks like. Then again, it could just be because those Brazilians don’t do anything half-ass.
Filed under: HDNetA slow week for mixed martial arts will be livened up on Friday night, with Shark Fights putting on its 14th event and first on HDNet, headlined by a main event between a couple of UFC veterans, and a co-main event that is one of the …
A slow week for mixed martial arts will be livened up on Friday night, with Shark Fights putting on its 14th event and first on HDNet, headlined by a main event between a couple of UFC veterans, and a co-main event that is one of the best women’s fights of the year.
What: Shark Fights 14: Horwich vs. Villefort
When: Friday night, the HDNet broadcast begins at 10 PM ET
Filed under: StrikeforceMiesha Tate won two fights in two hours Friday night to come out on top of Strikeforce’s four-woman, one-night MMA tournament, taking a big step forward toward earning a shot at the 135-pound title.
Miesha Tate won two fights in two hours Friday night to come out on top of Strikeforce’s four-woman, one-night MMA tournament, taking a big step forward toward earning a shot at the 135-pound title.
Although one-night tournaments are risky propositions, this tournament has to be considered a major success for Strikeforce: The fights were solid, and the result was a likable, articulate, attractive woman getting a high-profile tournament championship.
“Sarah Kaufman, you’re amazing,” Tate said to the current 135-pound champ. “I can’t wait to fight you again.”
A slow week for mixed martial arts will be livened up on Friday night, with Shark Fights putting on its 14th event and first on HDNet, headlined by a main event between a couple of UFC veterans, and a co-main event that is one of the best women’s fights of the year.