Tag: failed drug tests

Jessica Eye’s Positive Test for Marijuana Was the Result of a Family Party Gone Horribly Wrong


(Jessica Eye and her father Randy, after their reconciliation. / Photo via UFC.com)

When Jessica Eye steps into the cage against Alexis Davis at UFC 170 this weekend, the bantamweight contender will be doing so under the “probated suspension” that she caught after testing positive for marijuana metabolites following her split-decision win against Sarah Kaufman in October. Since then, Eye has done a dance of denial with the media — which hasn’t exactly made her any fans.

But to hear her tell it, Eye never smoked weed at all. In a letter she wrote to the Texas Board of License and Regulation back in November (obtained yesterday by MicxedMartialArts.com), Eye explained that she consumed trace amounts of marijuana from second-hand smoke at a family party that went from kinda-trashy to fully-traumatic, ending with her being roughed up by her own father. Here is Jessica’s tale of woe…

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November 22, 2013

Dear Mrs. Winston,

I am writing you today in regards to my recent test results from UFC 166 in Houston. I first wanted to thank you in advance for your time and for allowing me the opportunity to explain my position. As one of the few professional female athletes currently competing in the UFC, I can’t express you how upset and more than disappointed I am in myself for even being in this situation. I have worked extremely hard at my craft over the last 6 plus years to put myself in a position of influence where I really feel I can make a difference in not only our sport but beyond. I consider myself a role model and understand that as a professional athlete who is competing at the highest level of his or her sport, that I also have an obligation to be a leader and positive role model. The reason I tell you this is so you can understand how crushing this has been for me. Beyond the opportunity to make a living doing something I love to do, to me its more important to have the opportunity to continue to be a role model and affective people in a positive way.


(Jessica Eye and her father Randy, after their reconciliation. / Photo via UFC.com)

When Jessica Eye steps into the cage against Alexis Davis at UFC 170 this weekend, the bantamweight contender will be doing so under the “probated suspension” that she caught after testing positive for marijuana metabolites following her split-decision win against Sarah Kaufman in October. Since then, Eye has done a dance of denial with the media — which hasn’t exactly made her any fans.

But to hear her tell it, Eye never smoked weed at all. In a letter she wrote to the Texas Board of License and Regulation back in November (obtained yesterday by MicxedMartialArts.com), Eye explained that she consumed trace amounts of marijuana from second-hand smoke at a family party that went from kinda-trashy to fully-traumatic, ending with her being roughed up by her own father. Here is Jessica’s tale of woe…

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November 22, 2013

Dear Mrs. Winston,

I am writing you today in regards to my recent test results from UFC 166 in Houston. I first wanted to thank you in advance for your time and for allowing me the opportunity to explain my position. As one of the few professional female athletes currently competing in the UFC, I can’t express you how upset and more than disappointed I am in myself for even being in this situation. I have worked extremely hard at my craft over the last 6 plus years to put myself in a position of influence where I really feel I can make a difference in not only our sport but beyond. I consider myself a role model and understand that as a professional athlete who is competing at the highest level of his or her sport, that I also have an obligation to be a leader and positive role model. The reason I tell you this is so you can understand how crushing this has been for me. Beyond the opportunity to make a living doing something I love to do, to me its more important to have the opportunity to continue to be a role model and affective people in a positive way.

Mrs. Winston, I assure you that I am not nor have I ever been the type of person to put anything unhealthy in body, let alone and illegal narcotic. In addition, I am well aware of the other athletes who have thrown away their careers over substance abuse issues and I could never understand how someone in that position would risk jeopardizing their career over drugs or alcohol.

I am not the type of person who makes excuses and can admit Im wring when Ive made a mistake. In this case, the mistake I made was trusting my family and not trusting my instincts sooner. From the time I was a teenager, my father and I have not been on the best of terms due to his own substance abuse issues which I was forced to move out of his home when I was a 18. As a young girl I saw the damage and destruction drugs and alcohol can cause and how it can tear a family apart. Well my family was not immune and unfortunately it took a very ugly incident recently to finally allow me to move forward with my life without my father.

Approximately 4 weeks or so prior to my UFC debut in Houston, I had decided to give my father another chance to get back into my life. As you can understand, I was very emotional leading up to my fight and was eager for any support I could get from family, friends and especially my father. After numerous apologies and attempts to make amends with me, I finally decided to give my father another chance and attend a family get together in my honor which he hosted at his residence, The get together involved mostly family members form his side along with many of my friends and even a few of my sponsors who had all come together to watch the fight the evening. What transpired that night , will be with me for my entire life and is what I feel may have led to the traces of marijuana that were found to be in my system.

Upon arrival at my fathers house, I noticed immediately that they had been drinking. Against my better judgment, I decided to stay and avoid another confrontation with my father especially with anyone else in attendance. As the evening progressed, the alcohol would eventually turn into marijuana. As my father and several of his friends began to smoke in the living room where we were watching the UFC, I politely asked him to stop smoking or id be forced to leave. Not only did he refuse, but he became irate and began to physically attack me in front of all of our guests. Luckily my friends and brother were able to separate us and get m out of there relative unharmed, but this would surely be one of the darkest and most humiliating moments of my life. Needless to say, I did not call the police in order to avoid this getting out in public as I knew I need to be distraction free heading into the biggest fight of my career. Looking back, I truly wish I would have filed a report not my benefit, but to share my story with others in hopers of stopping this from happening to even one other person. I sincerely feel this is what led to my test results as I have been around any other smokers for years prior to or since that night.

Mrs. Winston, I am not claiming to be completely innocent and realize I am in this position because of my actions. But I will tell you with all sincerity that I would never, ever gamble with my career or take for granted the opportunities I have in front of me. I would even ask you to contact Ohio Athletic Commission Executive Director Bernie Profato who Im confident will validate what I am writing you as far as my family history and this particular incident. Since then, ive actually gone public with my story and did an in depth interview with a reporter who went ahead and published an article about my relations with my father. Id be happy to forward this article to you upon request.

In closing, id like to thank you again for your time and consideration with this matter. Please get back to me or my manager Greg and let us know what the next step in the process will be. I am eager to put this behind me and start the next positive chapter of my life and what I hope will be a long career with the UFC.

Sincerely,

Jessica Eye

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Eye and her father Randy have since reconciled, after doctors discovered that he had terminal brain cancer. As she told UFC.com:

“I feel extremely guilty now and it really bothers me. Less than a month later (after the Kaufman fight), he’s diagnosed with a terminal illness and I don’t know when I’m fighting again and I don’t know what he’s doing. I don’t know if he’s going to make it again and it’s been depressing in that aspect. I’m mad at myself for maybe not noticing things sooner myself, that maybe the reason why he was acting the way he was was because of the tumor. They even said that the tumor was changing his behavior and it was. He’s always kind of a testy person, but it was making him very aggravated and distant, and I couldn’t understand it. He just wasn’t the same. So when I got the news about it, it brought down my world a little bit and made me feel real bad about the way things went down before my big debut. I’m very hopeful that I’m going to be back in the Octagon soon enough that my dad will get to actually see me.”

So to summarize: Maybe Jessica Eye isn’t a weed-puffing liar, and maybe her dad isn’t the biggest asshole in the universe. It would have been nice if any of Jessica’s friends or sponsors hustled her out of the house as soon as people started sparking up, but what are you gonna do.

Yancy Medeiros Fails Drug Test for Marijuana, Win Over Yves Edwards Changes to No-Contest


(Yancy Medeiros shows Rustam Khabilov his dislocated thumb in suspiciously chill fashion at UFC 159. / Photo via Getty)

Marijuana Day continues on CagePotato with another piece of weed-related bad news: MMAJunkie reported this morning that UFC lightweight Yancy Medeiros tested positive for marijuana metabolites following his first-round knockout win against Yves Edwards at UFC Fight for the Troops 3 on November 6th. As a result, his win has been changed to a no-contest by the very-reputable sounding Kentucky Boxing and Wrestling Authority. [Ed. note: Can we throw the word “Intercontinental” in there somewhere?]

According to a statement released by the UFC, “[Medeiros] agreed to and served a 90-day suspension retroactive to the event, and must pass a drug test before receiving clearance to compete again.”

So yeah, his suspension’s over already. It’s one of those Matt Riddle-type suspensions where the UFC only tells us about it after the fact — which they can get away with because the failed drug-test happened in a jurisdiction without any transparency — as opposed to the scorched fucking earth punishment that Pat Healy got for popping positive for marijuana in New Jersey.

It seems worth noting that Medeiros is a known associate of the Diaz brothers, who just yesterday posted a video of himself table-topping a dude with Nate. In an April 2013 interview with Sherdog, Medeiros credited the Diazes for changing his diet and work ethic. In other words, he’s a good kid who just fell in with a bad crowd. We’ll update you if/when Yancy releases a statement about the matter.

[Ed. note: Yancy. Love that name.]


(Yancy Medeiros shows Rustam Khabilov his dislocated thumb in suspiciously chill fashion at UFC 159. / Photo via Getty)

Marijuana Day continues on CagePotato with another piece of weed-related bad news: MMAJunkie reported this morning that UFC lightweight Yancy Medeiros tested positive for marijuana metabolites following his first-round knockout win against Yves Edwards at UFC Fight for the Troops 3 on November 6th. As a result, his win has been changed to a no-contest by the very-reputable sounding Kentucky Boxing and Wrestling Authority. [Ed. note: Can we throw the word “Intercontinental” in there somewhere?]

According to a statement released by the UFC, “[Medeiros] agreed to and served a 90-day suspension retroactive to the event, and must pass a drug test before receiving clearance to compete again.”

So yeah, his suspension’s over already. It’s one of those Matt Riddle-type suspensions where the UFC only tells us about it after the fact — which they can get away with because the failed drug-test happened in a jurisdiction without any transparency — as opposed to the scorched fucking earth punishment that Pat Healy got for popping positive for marijuana in New Jersey.

It seems worth noting that Medeiros is a known associate of the Diaz brothers, who just yesterday posted a video of himself table-topping a dude with Nate. In an April 2013 interview with Sherdog, Medeiros credited the Diazes for changing his diet and work ethic. In other words, he’s a good kid who just fell in with a bad crowd. We’ll update you if/when Yancy releases a statement about the matter.

[Ed. note: Yancy. Love that name.]

Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva Tests Positive for Elevated Testosterone, Hit With Nine-Month Suspension and Loss of $50,000 Bonus


(“Dammit, Jose! You told me this stuff was safe!” / Photo via Getty)

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.”

As our own George Shunick put it, “Someone please explain to me how a man who is 280 pounds of bone, sinew and muscle has a ‘legitimate’ prescription for TRT.” That’s a very good question. When Silva tested positive for horse-steroids back in 2008, he blamed the result on an over-the-counter testosterone booster called Novodex, which he was using to treat his gigantism, brought on by cysts on his pituitary gland. And once again, Silva is claiming that his latest failed test is not his fault:


(“Dammit, Jose! You told me this stuff was safe!” / Photo via Getty)

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.”

As our own George Shunick put it, “Someone please explain to me how a man who is 280 pounds of bone, sinew and muscle has a ‘legitimate’ prescription for TRT.” That’s a very good question. When Silva tested positive for horse-steroids back in 2008, he blamed the result on an over-the-counter testosterone booster called Novodex, which he was using to treat his gigantism, brought on by cysts on his pituitary gland. And once again, Silva is claiming that his latest failed test is not his fault:

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.

When reached for comment, UFC president Dana White released a frowny-face on twitter. Silva is now the sixth UFC fighter to be busted for elevated testosterone in 2013, following Rousimar Palhares, Lavar Johnson, Brian Bowles, Ben Rothwell, and Robert Drysdale.

Doug Marshall Suspended by PSAC After Failing Drug Test; ‘Rhino Era’ Ends With a Whimper


(Still…how could you not love this guy? / Photos via Sherdog)

When middleweight slugger Doug Marshall got body-shot KO’d by Alexander Shlemenko during their title fight at Bellator 109, it put an end to one of the most unlikely career-comebacks in recent memory — a brief and terrifying period that we came to affectionately refer to as “The Rhino Era.” (aka, “Year of the Rhino,” “Rhino Time”) And unfortunately, Doug’s unhappy ending just got unhappier.

As first broken by TheMMAReport.com, Marshall tested positive for an undisclosed banned substance following his loss to Shlemenko last month, and has been suspended by the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission. PSAC Executive Director Gregory Sirb wouldn’t confirm the length of the suspension or any other details, but we’ll update you when we know more. In response to the news, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney issued a short statement to TheMMAReport:

“Greg Sirb at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission operates one of the best commissions in the country. Doug Marshall will have to adhere to any and every penalty that the Pennsylvania Commission delivers. When competing at the highest level, fighters are expected to train and prepare for their fights according to the rules and should fully expect to be tested at every Bellator event.”

“Expect to be tested” is an interesting way of putting it…


(Still…how could you not love this guy? / Photos via Sherdog)

When middleweight slugger Doug Marshall got body-shot KO’d by Alexander Shlemenko during their title fight at Bellator 109, it put an end to one of the most unlikely career-comebacks in recent memory — a brief and terrifying period that we came to affectionately refer to as “The Rhino Era.” (aka, “Year of the Rhino,” “Rhino Time”) And unfortunately, Doug’s unhappy ending just got unhappier.

As first broken by TheMMAReport.com, Marshall tested positive for an undisclosed banned substance following his loss to Shlemenko last month, and has been suspended by the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission. PSAC Executive Director Gregory Sirb wouldn’t confirm the length of the suspension or any other details, but we’ll update you when we know more. In response to the news, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney issued a short statement to TheMMAReport:

“Greg Sirb at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission operates one of the best commissions in the country. Doug Marshall will have to adhere to any and every penalty that the Pennsylvania Commission delivers. When competing at the highest level, fighters are expected to train and prepare for their fights according to the rules and should fully expect to be tested at every Bellator event.”

“Expect to be tested” is an interesting way of putting it. Marshall is only the second Bellator fighter to fail a drug test — see also: Steven Artoff, sticky-icky — which sounds impressive until you realize that Bellator hasn’t always required drug tests from its fighters. After reaching out to commission contacts, TheMMAReport could only confirm that drug testing had taken place at 11 of the 25 events that Bellator held in 2013.

One more bit of semi-relevant info: Marshall was originally supposed to face Shlemenko at Bellator 98 in September — and was granted a therapeutic usage exemption for testosterone replacement therapy, according to Mohegan tribal commission director Michael Mazzulli — but the Rhino dropped off the card due to a broken hand.

UPDATED: CagePotato’s MMA Steroid Bust Timeline, Now With Testosterone Busts


(Dammit, Chael. We can never stay mad at you. / Photo via Getty)

Since it was first published in July 2009, our MMA Steroid Busts: The Definitive Timeline feature has grown to become the Internet’s most complete history of fighter PED use — as well as the busted fighters’ resulting excuses. But with the recent rise of testosterone replacement therapy, things began to get complicated. Should the list include a fighter who got caught with a 20:1 T/E ratio, even if he didn’t test positive for a particular steroid? It’s become clear that testosterone abuse is the new Stanozolol and we’ll be talking about this issue for years to come, so to keep things nice and neat, we’ve decided to stick every failed drug test for elevated testosterone on page 2 of the timeline.

Separating the testosterone busts into their own group revealed this damning statistic: “Of the aforementioned fighters who tested positive for elevated testosterone after fights, 1 was successful in those fights, while 4 were unsuccessful.” It’s too early to draw any hard conclusions, but TRT abuse may turn out to be the most useless unfair advantage in all of MMA.

Check out the new testosterone busts page of the Steroid Bust Timeline right here, and please let us know if we’ve forgotten any.


(Dammit, Chael. We can never stay mad at you. / Photo via Getty)

Since it was first published in July 2009, our MMA Steroid Busts: The Definitive Timeline feature has grown to become the Internet’s most complete history of fighter PED use — as well as the busted fighters’ resulting excuses. But with the recent rise of testosterone replacement therapy, things began to get complicated. Should the list include a fighter who got caught with a 20:1 T/E ratio, even if he didn’t test positive for a particular steroid? It’s become clear that testosterone abuse is the new Stanozolol and we’ll be talking about this issue for years to come, so to keep things nice and neat, we’ve decided to stick every failed drug test for elevated testosterone on page 2 of the timeline.

Separating the testosterone busts into their own group revealed this damning statistic: “Of the aforementioned fighters who tested positive for elevated testosterone after fights, 1 was successful in those fights, while 4 were unsuccessful.” It’s too early to draw any hard conclusions, but TRT abuse may turn out to be the most useless unfair advantage in all of MMA.

Check out the new testosterone busts page of the Steroid Bust Timeline right here, and please let us know if we’ve forgotten any.

Robert Drysdale Denied License for UFC 167 Due to Absurdly Inflated T/E Ratio [UPDATED]


(Allegedly, Robert shaved his chest three hours before this photo was taken. / Photo via Getty)

For the second time since his ill-fated signing with the UFC, BJJ world champion Robert Drysdale has been forced to withdraw from a scheduled fight. In July, Drysdale pulled out of a UFC 163 match against Ednaldo Oliveira due to a “staph infection” — yes there are scare quotes around “staph infection,” we’ll get to that later — and now the undefeated light-heavyweight been denied licensure by the NSAC for his UFC 167 match against Cody Donovan, after an out-of-competition drug test came back with a 19.4:1 testosterone-to-epitestosterone (T/E) ratio.

That’s more than three times the NSAC’s testing threshold of 6:1 (which is considered overly liberal in the first place), and even beats the super-inflated T/E ratios that Alistair Overeem (14:1) and Chael Sonnen (16.9:1) previously turned in. If you’re a healthy adult male, your T/E ratio is probably around 1:1. In other words, Robert Drysdale is approximately 20 times the man you are.

Drysdale’s latest drug test didn’t come back positive for steroids, and NSAC boss Keith Kizer clarified that the submission ace hasn’t been suspended or fined as a result of the failed test — at least not by the athletic commission. As we’ve seen recently, the UFC has no problem taking matters into its own hands when it comes to testosterone abusers. So will the UFC will give Drysdale another chance to get his act together, or will he become the first none-and-done fighter since Benjamin Brinsa?

Right, so about that “staph infection”…


(Allegedly, Robert shaved his chest three hours before this photo was taken. / Photo via Getty)

For the second time since his ill-fated signing with the UFC, BJJ world champion Robert Drysdale has been forced to withdraw from a scheduled fight. In July, Drysdale pulled out of a UFC 163 match against Ednaldo Oliveira due to a “staph infection” — yes there are scare quotes around “staph infection,” we’ll get to that later — and now the undefeated light-heavyweight been denied licensure by the NSAC for his UFC 167 match against Cody Donovan, after an out-of-competition drug test came back with a 19.4:1 testosterone-to-epitestosterone (T/E) ratio.

That’s more than three times the NSAC’s testing threshold of 6:1 (which is considered overly liberal in the first place), and even beats the super-inflated T/E ratios that Alistair Overeem (14:1) and Chael Sonnen (16.9:1) previously turned in. If you’re a healthy adult male, your T/E ratio is probably around 1:1. In other words, Robert Drysdale is approximately 20 times the man you are.

Drysdale’s latest drug test didn’t come back positive for steroids, and NSAC boss Keith Kizer clarified that the submission ace hasn’t been suspended or fined as a result of the failed test — at least not by the athletic commission. As we’ve seen recently, the UFC has no problem taking matters into its own hands when it comes to testosterone abusers. So will the UFC will give Drysdale another chance to get his act together, or will he become the first none-and-done fighter since Benjamin Brinsa?

Right, so about that “staph infection”…

Here’s MMAJunkie with a very illuminating history about Drysdale’s history with testosterone therapy:

Less than a month before his scheduled UFC debut at UFC 163 against Ednaldo Oliveira earlier this year, [Drysdale] submitted paperwork to obtain a therapeutic-use exemption (TUE) to undergo testosterone-replacement therapy (TRT), according to documents MMAjunkie.com obtained through a public records request.

On his application, which is dated July 8, 2013, the 32-year-old Drysdale stated the TUE request was his first. He certified that he hadn’t used or was currently using banned substances and had no previous positive tests. Also included in the paperwork was a letter from a Las Vegas-based anti-aging clinic, TrimBody M.D., that stated Drysdale was taking weekly testosterone injections at the clinic to treat hypogonadism.

Additionally, a blood exam from Clinical Pathology Laboratories showed Drysdale had a free testosterone level of 156 ng/mL, which was below the testing facility’s normal range of 292 ng/mL to 1052 ng/mL. He was within the laboratory’s normal range for follicle-stimulating hormone (6.0 mIU/mL) and luteinizing hormone (2.1 mIU/mL).

Taken together, the levels are important determining factors in the diagnosis of primary or secondary hypogonadism, a condition in which the body fails to produce normal levels of testosterone. They also play a significant part in deciding whether an athlete is cleared for an exemption.

Despite filing TUE paperwork, Drysdale did not receive an exemption, according to Kizer. On July 16, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Drysdale withdrew from UFC 163, which took place Aug. 3 in Rio de Janeiro and was overseen by the Brazilian Athletic Commission, due to a staph infection.

UPDATE: Cody Donovan will remain on the UFC 167 card against replacement opponent Gian Villante.