Let’s kick off today’s “top” story with a classic Russian joke: What did the Alexander Shlemenko say to the dirty syringe?
“I must take you.”
Get it, because Ivan Drago said that once, and he’s Russian? I am criminally underpaid for this kind of material.
Anyway, the point is that former Bellator middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko has tested positive for elevated testosterone following his KO win over Melvin Manhoef at Bellator 133 last month. Because apparently “Bellator drug test” are a thing that is happening now.
(Photo via Bellator)
Let’s kick off today’s “top” story with a classic Russian joke: What did the Alexander Shlemenko say to the dirty syringe?
“I must take you.”
Get it, because Ivan Drago said that once, and he’s Russian? I am criminally underpaid for this kind of material.
Anyway, the point is that former Bellator middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko has tested positive for elevated testosterone following his KO win over Melvin Manhoef at Bellator 133 last month. Because apparently “Bellator drug test” are a thing that is happening now. The Coker Era, I’m telling you. It’s like this guy’s actively trying to undo the freakshow cred that Bellator achieved during the Rebney Era. Let’s hope Shammy vs. Slice isn’t promoted like some kind of legitimate contest, or all will truly be lost.
Said Coker in a press statement:
We are disappointed to hear about the results of Shlemenko’s drug test. As I’ve stated previously, performance-enhancing drugs have no place in this sport, and Bellator fully supports the commission in enforcing harsh penalties to deter fighters from taking banned substances.
The news of Shlemenko’s failed test comes just weeks after former champ Emanuel Newton tested positive for marijuana after his Bellator 134 title loss to Liam McGeary and was subsequently handed a three month suspension. Shlemenko, however, has been banned indefinitely by the California Athletic Commission and fined $2,500. Which, steroids carrying a longer suspension that weed? IS THIS WHAT PROGRESS IS?
Oh, it should also be mentioned that Emelio Chavez also failed his Bellator 133 drug test, for marijuana. MMAFighting has confirmed that he’ll be suspended 30 days and fined $100 plus the cost of the test.
Steroids and weed, man. They’re the salt and pepper to MMA’s chuck roast.
Drug test results are in from October 3rd’s Bellator 127 event in Temecula, California, and brother, they are embarrassing. Sherdog reports that four fighters on the card failed their post-fight drug screenings for banned substances, according to information released by the California State Athletic Commission. Those fighters are…
– UFC veteran Rob Emerson, who popped positive for Modafinil, a sleep disorder drug that is used recreationally as a pep-pill. Emerson lost a decision to Rafael Silva at Bellator 127, and his loss will stand.
– Strikeforce/KOTC vet Keith Berry, who tested positive for elevated testosterone levels and marijuana. His split decision win against Joe Pacheco will be changed to a no contest.
– Light-heavyweight Nick Moghaddam, who also tested positive for elevated testosterone levels and marijuana. Moghaddam’s unanimous decision loss to Ray Sloan will stand.
Drug test results are in from October 3rd’s Bellator 127 event in Temecula, California, and brother, they are embarrassing. Sherdog reports that four fighters on the card failed their post-fight drug screenings for banned substances, according to information released by the California State Athletic Commission. Those fighters are…
– UFC veteran Rob Emerson, who popped positive for Modafinil, a sleep disorder drug that is used recreationally as a pep-pill. Emerson lost a decision to Rafael Silva at Bellator 127, and his loss will stand.
– Strikeforce/KOTC vet Keith Berry, who tested positive for elevated testosterone levels and marijuana. His split decision win against Joe Pacheco will be changed to a no contest.
– Light-heavyweight Nick Moghaddam, who also tested positive for elevated testosterone levels and marijuana. Moghaddam’s unanimous decision loss to Ray Sloan will stand.
– Welterweight Fernando Gonzalez, who tested positive for marijuana. Gonzalez scored a first-round TKO against Karo Parisyan at Bellator 127; at this point, the CSAC has not confirmed whether or not Gonzalez’s win will be overturned.
I don’t understand it; Bellator is usually such a professional operation (LOL J/K). So, is it just a fluke that the CSAC caught four fish on the same event? Well, not exactly. As Sherdog explains, “All 22 fighters competing at Bellator 127 provided urine samples that were sent to a UCLA Olympic analytical lab that is World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited.”
Yes, all of the fighters were tested — a marked contrast from the way that Bellator used to run drug testing, which was basically not at all. In other words, the more shows that Bellator runs in which its fighters are actually held accountable for what’s in their bodies, the more we’ll see multiple fighters pissing hot on the same card. 2014 is indeed the druggiest year in MMA history, and we’ve still got two more months to get through.
(“You have brought great shame upon your chest hair on this day, Mr. Drysdale.” — Brian Ebersole. Photo via MMAJunkie)
When we last checked in with the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s crack team of regulators, we learned that they had yet to drug test middleweight contender/former TRT user/former steroid cheat Vitor Belfort since relicensing him on July 23rd. That NSAC commissioner Anthony Marnell had promised to test Belfort “until the day he retired” before immediately shirking the responsibility to the California State Athletic Commission probably should have come as a big surprise to us. Yet it did not.
And for our second installment of “Great Job, Nevada!”, we return to July, which was apparently a pretty busy month for the NSAC. Aside from the whole Vitor Belfort re-licensing issue, they had to deal with Kevin Casey and Robert Drysdale, who tested positive for drostanolone and elevated testosterone, respectively, at UFC 175 and the TUF 19 Finale (respectfully). While Casey was hit with a $5,600 fine and a year-long suspension almost immediately, Drysdale’s case was pushed back for whatever reason, despite the the fact that it had been his second-such failed test in less than two fights under the UFC banner.
In any case, the word has been handed down and it looks like Drysdale is destined to become one of those “what could’ve been”-type fighters…
(“You have brought great shame upon your chest hair on this day, Mr. Drysdale.” — Brian Ebersole. Photo via MMAJunkie)
When we last checked in with the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s crack team of regulators, we learned that they had yet to drug test middleweight contender/former TRT user/former steroid cheat Vitor Belfort since relicensing him on July 23rd. That NSAC commissioner Anthony Marnell had promised to test Belfort “until the day he retired” before immediately shirking the responsibility to the California State Athletic Commission probably should have come as a big surprise to us. Yet it did not.
And for our second installment of “Great Job, Nevada!”, we return to July, which was apparently a pretty busy month for the NSAC. Aside from the whole Vitor Belfort re-licensing issue, they had to deal with Kevin Casey and Robert Drysdale, who tested positive for drostanolone and elevated testosterone, respectively, at UFC 175 and the TUF 19 Finale (respectfully). While Casey was hit with a $5,600 fine and a year-long suspension almost immediately, Drysdale’s case was pushed back for whatever reason, despite the the fact that it had been his second-such failed test in less than two fights under the UFC banner.
In any case, the word has been handed down and it looks like Drysdale is destined to become one of those “what could’ve been”-type fighters (via MMAFighting):
“I think we have given the industry adequate time to adjust to our elimination of this type of an exemption,” said Commissioner Skip Avansino.
As a result of his failed test, the NAC imposed a one-year suspension on Drysdale retroactive to his July fight, fined Drysdale 33-percent of his $16,000 fight purse ($5,280), and overturned his win over Berish into a no contest.
Why Drysdale is still employed with the UFC is anyone’s guess, but we’d just like to thank those continuously on-point folks over in Nevada for wrapping this up in a timely a manner as possible. (*armpit fart*)
(And yet, this is still the most shameful thing that Kevin Casey has ever done.)
Drug testing at the UFC’s back-to-back events in Las Vegas earlier this month caught two more PED-cheaters, who will be facing fines, suspensions, and the overturning of their victories. MMA Junkie broke the news yesterday evening.
We’ll begin with middleweight Kevin Casey, who tested positive for the anabolic steroid drostanolone following his 61-second TKO of Bubba Bush in the curtain-jerking match at UFC 175. The fight represented a second chance in the UFC for “King” Casey, who bounced out of the promotion last year after a stint on TUF 17. Unfortunately, Casey has pissed all over that chance, and might find himself on the chopping block after this one.
And in “enough testosterone to choke a horse” news…
(And yet, this is still the most shameful thing that Kevin Casey has ever done.)
Drug testing at the UFC’s back-to-back events in Las Vegas earlier this month caught two more PED-cheaters, who will be facing fines, suspensions, and the overturning of their victories, pending a formal hearing. MMA Junkie broke the news yesterday evening.
We’ll begin with middleweight Kevin Casey, who tested positive for the anabolic steroid drostanolone following his 61-second TKO of Bubba Bush in the curtain-jerking match at UFC 175 on July 5th. The fight represented a second chance in the UFC for “King” Casey, who bounced out of the promotion last year after a stint on TUF 17. Unfortunately, Casey has pissed all over that chance, and might find himself on the chopping block after this one.
And in “enough testosterone to choke a horse” news, light-heavyweight jiu-jitsu phenom Robert Drysdale was caught with an elevated testosterone-to-epitestosterone (T/E) ratio of 12:1 following his first-round submission win over Keith Berish at the TUF 19 Finale on July 6th. The allowed ratio in Nevada is 6:1, which is already a much higher T/E ratio than any human being should have naturally.
Even though Drysdale’s appearance at the TUF 19 Finale marked his UFC debut, it’s actually the second drug test he’s failed for elevated testosterone. In 2013, Drysdale was denied a license to compete at UFC 167 after an out-of-competition drug test came back with a whopping 19.4:1 testosterone-to-epitestosterone (T/E) ratio. Following his first failed drug test, Drysdale claimed that he was only on TRT for a little over a month, and he wasn’t on it long enough to feel much of an effect. (“I will not take an ounce of blame for dishonesty, because there was no dishonesty on my part. I would take some blame for not understanding the process.”)
I wonder how much blame Drysdale will accept for this one. At any rate, having more failed drug tests than actual fights in the UFC is a bad look. We’ll keep you posted when punishments are officially handed down for Drysdale and Casey.
In the wake of this news, we’ve made a long-overdue update to our MMA and Testosterone Bust Timeline, which turned five years old yesterday. Time flies when you’re juiced to the gills.
Sadly, one of the greatest heavyweight fights in UFC history will now have an asterisk next to it. Yesterday evening, MMAJunkie broke the news that Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva tested positive for elevated testosterone following his five-round war against Mark Hunt at UFC Fight Night 33, December 7th in Brisbane, Australia. As a result, the UFC — which regulated the event and was responsible for fighter drug-testing — has suspended Silva for nine months retroactive to the date of the fight, and stripped him of his $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus. The bout with Hunt will be changed to a no-contest on Bigfoot’s professional record, although Hunt still gets to keep his draw, and will receive the $50k that would have gone to Silva.
According to a statement released by a UFC rep, “Silva is on a medically approved regimen of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), and had been in compliance with therapeutic guidelines on all pre-fight tests performed prior to the event. The results of his test on the day of the event indicated a level of testosterone outside of allowable limit. Silva has been informed that the elevated testosterone level is a violation of the UFC Fighter Conduct Policy and his Promotional Agreement with Zuffa.”
Sadly, one of the greatest heavyweight fights in UFC history will now have an asterisk next to it. Yesterday evening, MMAJunkie broke the news that Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva tested positive for elevated testosterone following his five-round war against Mark Hunt at UFC Fight Night 33, December 7th in Brisbane, Australia. As a result, the UFC — which regulated the event and was responsible for fighter drug-testing — has suspended Silva for nine months retroactive to the date of the fight, and stripped him of his $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus. The bout with Hunt will be changed to a no-contest on Bigfoot’s professional record, although Hunt still gets to keep his draw, and will receive the $50k that would have gone to Silva.
According to a statement released by a UFC rep, “Silva is on a medically approved regimen of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), and had been in compliance with therapeutic guidelines on all pre-fight tests performed prior to the event. The results of his test on the day of the event indicated a level of testosterone outside of allowable limit. Silva has been informed that the elevated testosterone level is a violation of the UFC Fighter Conduct Policy and his Promotional Agreement with Zuffa.”
Clarification: Months before my fight I looked for the UFC doctor Marcio Tannure in Brazil so I could start the hormonal replacement “TRT” which was authorized and recognized by a professional. I started the treatment and 2 weeks before my fight I did all the exams required by the UFC. My testosterone level continued to be low so I was recommended by the doctor to increase the dosage. Unfortunately my level increased too much and caused me to suspend. I only did what was recommended by someone trained who understands about the subject therefore it was not my mistake. I’m cool because I know that the mistake was not made by me, I never tried doing anything wrong for my fight.
As MMAMania explains: “It should be noted that Tannure is the medical director of the Brazilian Mixed Martial Arts Commission’s (CABMMA) and, according to Brazilian mixed martial arts (MMA) reporter Guilherme Cruz, Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters always refer to him as a ‘UFC doctor.’ Indeed, he takes care of most of Brazil’s UFC fighters, and was also responsible for authorizing the TRT therapy for Vitor Belfort.” For what it’s worth, Silva also released some correspondence from his doctors indicating that his T-levels were low as of November 30th.
After news of Silva’s failed test broke, MMAJunkie’s Steven Marrocco called up Mark Hunt to get his reaction. “Shit, I need to get on some of this shit,” Hunt said. “Fuck, I don’t know how these guys are doing this shit. I should get some of that shit, too…I don’t know what to say, honestly. I don’t know what it is, but kudos to me for the bonus, eh?” Hunt then publicly blasted MMAJunkie for waking him up and not explaining that he was being interviewed. Classic Hunto.
(If not for his doctor’s advice, Rothwell would have fully completed his transformation into Wolverine that night. Photo via Getty.)
You guys remember how Ben Rothwell jumped on the TRT train prior to his bout with Brandon Vera at UFC 164? And how Vera claimed that “it wouldn’t help?” Well, it did. Unfortunately for “Big Ben,” it helped him a little *too* much, actually. MMAJunkie just passed along word that, although Rothwell was only given an “administrative warning” by the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, he has been suspended by the UFC for 9 months following a positive test for elevated levels of testosterone at UFC 164.
Shockingly, Rothwell was shocked to learn the shocking news:
Following my victory at UFC 164 I was informed I tested for an elevated level of testosterone. This came as a shock because I had applied for and was granted a TRT exemption and was doing so under the supervision of a doctor. I was tested every week for eight weeks prior to the fight and was well under the acceptable level each time.
My God, does Lavar Johnson’s “doctor” not even realize how many fighters he is screwing over with his ignorance? HE’S TAKING AWAY MEN’S LIVELIHOODS DAMN IT!
(If not for his doctor’s advice, Rothwell would have fully completed his transformation into Wolverine that night. Photo via Getty.)
You guys remember how Ben Rothwell jumped on the TRT train prior to his bout with Brandon Vera at UFC 164? And how Vera claimed that “it wouldn’t help?” Well, it did. Unfortunately for “Big Ben,” it helped him a little *too* much, actually. MMAJunkie just passed along word that, although Rothwell was only given an “administrative warning” by the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, he has been suspended by the UFC for 9 months following a positive test for elevated levels of testosterone at UFC 164.
Shockingly, Rothwell was shocked to learn the shocking news:
Following my victory at UFC 164 I was informed I tested for an elevated level of testosterone. This came as a shock because I had applied for and was granted a TRT exemption and was doing so under the supervision of a doctor. I was tested every week for eight weeks prior to the fight and was well under the acceptable level each time.
My God, does Lavar Johnson’s “doctor” not even realize how many fighters he is screwing over with his ignorance? HE’S TAKING AWAY MEN’S LIVELIHOODS DAMN IT!
I had applied for TRT after an endocrinologist and Wisconsin athletic doctors diagnosed me with hypogonadism. They felt it was caused by a car crash in 1999 that left me with severe head trauma and in a coma. Doctors told me TRT was something that could stop the hypogonadism from degrading my body.
After getting the news of the elevated test, I spoke with the Wisconsin Athletic Commission and they decided to give me an administrative warning. I was told they didn’t think I tried to cheat, but felt some punishment was necessary.
I have now been informed the UFC has elected to suspend me for nine months. I am not going to fight the suspension as I feel ultimately it is my responsibility to make sure I stay under the acceptable limit. I am deeply sorry for this mistake and apologize to my fans, family and friends.
Well if anything, Rothwell’s elevated testosterone levels should help explain that hyper-energetic dance number he pulled off before KO’ing Vera. Shunick is going to be crushed when he finds out that Rothwell wasn’t actually summoning the Gods of cheese, cheap beer and general whiteness on that cool August night. As were we all, George. As were we all.
