(…and don’t even get me started on that damned Bubonic plague business.)
We’ve talked a lot about marijuana in MMA around here lately, mainly as a result of the recent statements made by UFC VP of regulatory affairs Marc Ratner, who declared that Dave Herman might be forced to undergo a rehabilitation program following his second positive test for cannabis in just four fights at UFC 153. Simply put, Ratner’s belief (although he didn’t state it outright) that marijuana was a bigger concern to the various athletic commission governing the sport than that of PED’s, is a load of horseshit. Pure, unadulterated, horseshit.
Enter boxing promoter Bob Arum, a dusty old geezer with an intellect rivaled only by garden tools who feels that the sport of MMA is rampant with homosexual skinheads that couldn’t throw a punch to save their life. He’s not exactly phone-a-friend material if you catch our drift. But when it was revealed that Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. had tested positive for marijuana following his unanimous decision loss to Sergio Martinez on September 15th, fans and members of the media alike were anxious to see how Arum would react to it.
Simply put, his response would have made Dana White proud.
(…and don’t even get me started on that damned Bubonic plague business.)
We’ve talked a lot about marijuana in MMA around here lately, mainly as a result of the recent statements made by UFC VP of regulatory affairs Marc Ratner, who declared that Dave Herman might be forced to undergo a rehabilitation program following his second positive test for cannabis in just four fights at UFC 153. Simply put, Ratner’s belief (although he didn’t state it outright) that marijuana was a bigger concern to the various athletic commission governing the sport than that of PED’s, is a load of horseshit. Pure, unadulterated, horseshit.
Enter boxing promoter Bob Arum, a dusty old geezer with an intellect rivaled only by garden tools who feels that the sport of MMA is rampant with homosexual skinheads that couldn’t throw a punch to save their life. He’s not exactly phone-a-friend material if you catch our drift. But when it was revealed that Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. had tested positive for marijuana following his unanimous decision loss to Sergio Martinez on September 15th, fans and members of the media alike were anxious to see how Arum would react to it.
Simply put, his response would have made Dana White proud.
I’m sorry that it happened, that he tested positive, but I’m not going to condemn a kid for smoking a joint a month before a fight to go to sleep. What the fuck is happening? I mean, let’s be real about it, let’s not be hypocrites about it.
Performance enhancing drugs, that’s wrong. Smoking a joint a month before a fight, take a poll here, what kind of percentage do you think of people [have] smoked a joint in the last month? So let’s be fuckin’ real!
Even more revealing than that, Arum told ESPN in an interview that took place shortly after the news broke that, “I can’t really get excited about it. There’s no promoter in boxing who could pass the marijuana test, including myself.”
Wait, so not only is Bob Arum way more in touch with current affairs than we previously determined, but now he’s the hip grandparent who blazes up with the best of us?
As first reported by MMAJunkie, Stephan Bonnar and Dave Herman both tested positive for banned substances in their UFC 153 post-fight drug screenings. With no athletic commission in place in Brazil, the UFC independently tested all 24 fighters who competed at the October 13th card at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena — and unfortunately nailed a pair of repeat offenders.
Bonnar, who announced his retirement from MMA earlier this week, tested positive for the anabolic steroid Drostanolone following his TKO loss to Anderson Silva in UFC 153’s main event. It is the second steroid bust for Bonnar, who was suspended for nine months after popping positive for Boldenone in 2006. Now that Bonnar is retired from the sport, a suspension won’t be much of a punishment, though it certainly puts a black mark on the end of a crowd-pleasing career inside the Octagon. (Conspiracy theory time: Bonnar knew he’d be retiring after the Silva fight, and he simply didn’t give a fuck.)
As for the one they call Pee Wee…
(…but damn, did he look good doing it.)
As first reported by MMAJunkie, Stephan Bonnar and Dave Herman both tested positive for banned substances in their UFC 153 post-fight drug screenings. With no athletic commission in place in Brazil, the UFC independently tested all 24 fighters who competed at the October 13th card at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena — and unfortunately nailed a pair of repeat offenders.
Bonnar, who announced his retirement from MMA earlier this week, tested positive for the anabolic steroid Drostanolone following his TKO loss to Anderson Silva in UFC 153′s main event. It is the second steroid bust for Bonnar, who was suspended for nine months after popping positive for Boldenone in 2006. Now that Bonnar is retired from the sport, a suspension won’t be much of a punishment, though it certainly puts a black mark on the end of a crowd-pleasing career inside the Octagon. (Conspiracy theory time: Bonnar knew he’d be retiring after the Silva fight, and he simply didn’t give a fuck.)
As for the one they call Pee Wee…
Dave Herman was flagged for marijuana metabolites following his loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Last year, Herman was pulled from a scheduled bout with Mike Russow due to a positive test result for marijuana. Herman denied using the sweet leaf at the time, but in light of this second positive test, it’s probably safe to assume that he’s a pothead. And since the loss to Big Nog was Herman’s third straight in the promotion, he was probably heading out the door anyway.
UFC exec Marc Ratner said that punishments for the fighters will be issued sometime next week.
Following his submission-of-the-night victory over Chris Clements at UFC 149, Matt Riddle tested positive for marijuana, according to a new report from MMAJunkie. The Calgary Combative Sports Commission suspended Riddle for 90 days retroactive to the July 21 event, which means the TUF 7 vet will be out of action until…well, today. Crisis averted.
For UFC fighters — most of whom don’t compete more than once every three months anyway — the 90-day suspension is more of a “hey bro, not cool” kind of gesture, rather than something that’s actually punitive; all it really prevented Riddle from doing was taking an ill-advised short-notice fight directly after his last appearance. Then again, the UFC still hasn’t scheduled his next fight, so maybe they’re going to make him stew for a bit. Riddle’s just lucky this happened in Canada rather than Nevada, or he could have been out of action for an entire year.
Following his submission-of-the-night victory over Chris Clements at UFC 149, Matt Riddle tested positive for marijuana, according to a new report from MMAJunkie. The Calgary Combative Sports Commission suspended Riddle for 90 days retroactive to the July 21 event, which means the TUF 7 vet will be out of action until…well, today. Crisis averted.
For UFC fighters — most of whom don’t compete more than once every three months anyway — the 90-day suspension is more of a “hey bro, not cool” kind of gesture, rather than something that’s actually punitive; all it really prevented Riddle from doing was taking an ill-advised short-notice fight directly after his last appearance. Then again, the UFC still hasn’t scheduled his next fight, so maybe they’re going to make him stew for a bit. Riddle’s just lucky this happened in Canada rather than Nevada, or he could have been out of action for an entire year.
Bantamweight Francisco Rivera also caught a 90-day suspension at UFC 149, after testing positive for an undisclosed over-the-counter stimulant following his knockout win over Roland Delorme.
(So I sez to da brod, “Chael sent me,” and she just hands the needles right ova!!)
To say that it has been a disturbing week in the world almost does too much justice for the term “disturbing.” It has been an abhorring week. There have been twocases of zombie-like acts of cannibalism reported in the past few days alone. Two. If you can stomach it, see for yourself what the human race is still capable of. Being a bit of a paranoid, Burt Gummer-esque survivalist at heart, upon hearing this news, I immediately took to the stocked gun cabinet that rests in the dining room of my countryside abode, stepped outside, and began target practicing on squirrels, chipmunks, and whatever else happened to cross my path. Because this is how it begins, people. You know, the stuff those guys in face paint and textiles told us would happen so many years ago. And I hate to be a dick, but I warned you fuckers. Many, many times. And you just didn’t want to listen.
Self whoring aside, I’d like to think that when the news in the real world gets me down, I can always turn to the world of MMA/combat sports for a little bit of solace, be it in the form of a fantastic knockout, a discussion with friends, or a news story that makes me smile from ear to ear. So you can imagine my disappointment when I came across yet another story of a mixed martial artist, this time Frank Mir, hopping on the TRT bandwagon.
(So I sez to da brod, “Chael sent me,” and she just hands the needles right ova!!)
To say that it has been a disturbing week in the world almost does too much justice for the term “disturbing.” It has been an abhorring week. There have been twocases of zombie-like acts of cannibalism reported in the past few days alone. Two. If you can stomach it, see for yourself what the human race is still capable of. Being a bit of a paranoid, Burt Gummer-esque survivalist at heart, upon hearing this news, I immediately took to the stocked gun cabinet that rests in the dining room of my countryside abode, stepped outside, and began target practicing on squirrels, chipmunks, and whatever else happened to cross my path. Because this is how it begins, people. You know, the stuff those guys in face paint and textiles told us would happen so many years ago. And I hate to be a dick, but I warned you fuckers. Many, many times. And you just didn’t want to listen.
Self whoring aside, I’d like to think that when the news in the real world gets me down, I can always turn to the world of MMA/combat sports for a little bit of solace, be it in the form of a fantastic knockout, a discussion with friends, or a news story that makes me smile from ear to ear. So you can imagine my disappointment when I came across yet another story of a mixed martial artist, this time Frank Mir, hopping on the TRT bandwagon.
Here’s a video of the interview for those of you too lazy to click a link. The topic in question comes up around the 1:12 mark.
And like Brookehouse also stated, I’m not going to rant about this revelation. I will say, however, that I’m not buying it. I was always weary in regards to which fighters, if any, truly needed testosterone replacement therapy to compete in the first place, and now that these exemptions are seemingly being handed out as easily as medicinal marijuana cards in California, I’m officially calling bullshit. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the use/legalization/mass distribution of the sticky-icky, but trying to convince me that professional fighters (especially massive heavyweights like Mir) are somehow lacking testosterone simply ain’t gonna happen. Does that make me a hypocrite? Probably. Ignorant? Sure, but that’s just my view. I’m not saying it’s the correct one, but I am saying that Keith Kizer already predicted that more and more fighters would be applying for these “exemptions” once they became available.
Don’t think I fail to see the irony in following up a statement about how I won’t rant…with a rant.
But as it is, creator and host of Pro MMA Radio, Larry Pepe, was the first to break the news, when he tweeted the following:
NSAC’s Keith Kizer confirmed to me that Frank Mir met all requirements for & received TUE for TRT for UFC 146 fight against JDS.
Again, I’d like to ask what exactly these requirements are, but if it takes half as long to explain as it does to hand out a year suspension for marijuana metabolites, which is a long God damn time, then I’ll pass.
And speaking of our favorite ADHD patient, today’s second sickening revelation comes during the fallout of Nick Diaz’s aforementioned suspension.
The UFC’s issues with drug-related failures are a problem, but they have yet to reach epidemic levels. Not yet, anyway. Truthfully, they haven’t even come close to damaging as many fights as training injuries have. But the major drug-relate…
The UFC’s issues with drug-related failures are a problem, but they have yet to reach epidemic levels. Not yet, anyway. Truthfully, they haven’t even come close to damaging as many fights as training injuries have. But the major drug-related cases we’ve seen this year have been high-profile—witness the cases of Alistair Overeem and Nick Diaz—and […]
The UFC welterweight division can rest easier (at least until February) now that the Nevada State Athletic Commission has ruled on Nick Diaz‘s positive test for marijuana. According to Damon Martin of MMA Weekly, the NSAC opted to slap Diaz with …
The UFC welterweight division can rest easier (at least until February) now that the Nevada State Athletic Commission has ruled on Nick Diaz‘s positive test for marijuana. According to Damon Martin of MMA Weekly, the NSAC opted to slap Diaz with a one-year suspension retroactive to his fight with (and loss to) Carlos Condit on […]
