If you didn’t happen to catch last night’s NSAC hearing because you don’t even work part-time for an MMA blog and have a life, then boy did you miss out (not really). Set to a soothing soundtrack of nearby construction work, the 3-hour meeting was as much of a non-factor as it possibly could have been. At one point, Pat Lundvall’s phone went off and it was the Benny Hill theme song. Seriously. It happened. Check out the “blooper reel” (a blooper reel!) above for another highlight.
And the NSAC themselves, my God (*kisses fingers*). In a meeting that was supposed to determine the fighting futures of Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz, the chairmen and women of the most frustratingly incompetent organization outside of a Comcast call center spent over an hour discussing the idea of placing a computer chip in MMA gloves in order to more accurately score fights. They spent another hour arguing about whether or not judges should be scoring fights with iPads, because penciling in a number between 8 and 10 is just getting too damn confusing. Did I mention the cosmic irony of the Benny Hill theme song?
But in the few moments when NSAC wasn’t struggling to take a piss without dribbling on their shoes, they did actually manage to reveal some information regarding Anderson Silva’s post-fight drug test. No spoilers, but it will breaka you heart.
In addition to testing positive for Drostanolone and Androsterone a month out from his UFC 183 headliner, Silva also tested positive for Oxazepam and Temazepam, two Benzodiazepines, in his post-fight test administered Jan. 31. Drostanolone metabolites were also present in his Jan. 31st sample.
Basically, Silva was on a cocktail of drugs that would’ve killed all of Van Halen. Oxazepam is a moderate anxiety drug, anticonvulsant, and skeletal muscle relaxant, while Temazepam is mainly taken to relieve insomnia. But here’s where it gets interesting; neither Oxazepam nor Temazepam are considered banned substances in *or* out of competition according to WADA standards. By failing to disclose that he was taking these drugs on his pre-fight medical questionnaire, however, Silva actually forced the NSAC to change their classification to a banned substance. MMAJunkie explains:
The medical questionnaire is part of the standard paperwork a Nevada licensee fills out prior to a contest. Among other things, it asks if a fighter has used “any medication, drug, cream, inhalant, or injection, whether prescription” or “over-the-counter” in the past month.
The paperwork can be used against a fighter if a substance that has not previously been approved by the commission — or is banned by WADA — is found in their urine or blood.
“Silva failed to disclose his use of one or more anabolic steroids and or one or more benzodiazepines, and thereby he provided false or misleading information to the commission or a representative of the commission,” the complaint, which MMAjunkie obtained, stated.
Of course, it’s the drostanolone metabolites still present in Silva’s system on fight night that should cause the most concern.
As for Silva’s punishment? Well, that’s still TBD. Silva, Diaz, and Hector Lombard were all handed “temporary suspensions” pending formal hearings to be held for each of them at a later date. Ashlee Evans-Smith, however, was handed a 9-month suspension and a 30% fine of her purse following her positive test for the banned diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (aka “flowers and weird sh*t) at UFC 181.
The UFC is planning to hold a meeting to “address a lot of issues” currently facing the promotion this afternoon, so swing by CagePotato at 1 p.m. EST for a live stream of the event.
