Tag: MMA drug test

Jessica Eye’s Denial of Positive Marijuana Test is a PR Failure of Spectacular Proportions

(via MMAFighting)

Jessica Eye had four months to come clean about testing positive for marijuana following her UFC 166 win over Sarah Kaufman, yet she chose to deny, deny, deny and has arguably found herself in a worse place because of it.

Perhaps I should back up a bit. You see, although reports initially claimed that Eye had tested positive for prescription blood thinners stemming from a car accident she was involved in some 11 years ago, it was revealed yesterday that Eye did in fact test positive for marijuana post UFC 166. This was largely unearthed by BloodyElbow’s Brent Brookehouse, who correctly pointed out that a) no athletic commission in their right mind would license a fighter on blood thinners for obvious reasons (difficulty stopping cuts, increased risk of intracranial bleeding) and b) the Texas Athletic Commission did not conduct any blood tests at UFC 166, which would have been the only way that blood thinners would show up in a post-fight test.

And so, reports began to circulate that Eye’s test was actually for marijuana (Author’s note: Called it). Eye vehemently denied these rumors on yesterday’s The MMA Hour (see above) and even went as far as to attack Brookehouse’s credibility on her now deleted Twitter account. Unfortunately for Eye, Fox Sports published a piece containing “the agreed order as handed down from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation” shortly after her MMA Hour appearance that not only proved that Eye’s test was in fact for marijuana, but that Eye had known about this and waived her right to appeal in January.


(via MMAFighting)

Jessica Eye had four months to come clean about testing positive for marijuana following her UFC 166 win over Sarah Kaufman, yet she chose to deny, deny, deny and has arguably found herself in a worse place because of it.

Perhaps I should back up a bit. You see, although reports initially claimed that Eye had tested positive for prescription blood thinners stemming from a car accident she was involved in some 11 years ago, it was revealed yesterday that Eye did in fact test positive for marijuana post UFC 166. This was largely unearthed by BloodyElbow’s Brent Brookehouse, who correctly pointed out that a) no athletic commission in their right mind would license a fighter on blood thinners for obvious reasons (difficulty stopping cuts, increased risk of intracranial bleeding) and b) the Texas Athletic Commission did not conduct any blood tests at UFC 166, which would have been the only way that blood thinners would show up in a post-fight test.

And so, reports began to circulate that Eye’s test was actually for marijuana (Author’s note: Called it). Eye vehemently denied these rumors on yesterday’s The MMA Hour (see above) and even went as far as to attack Brookehouse’s credibility on her now deleted Twitter account. Unfortunately for Eye, Fox Sports published a piece containing “the agreed order as handed down from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation” shortly after her MMA Hour appearance that not only proved that Eye’s test was in fact for marijuana, but that Eye had known about this and waived her right to appeal in January.

Why Eye chose to outright lie with the evidence staring her directly in the face in anyone’s guess. Surely she knew that it was only a matter of time until her tests results came to light, so what was she hoping to gain by denying the facts until the very last minute? As Ben Fowlkes stated on the most recent edition of The Co-Main Event Podcast, Eye’s “probated suspension” and measly $1,875 fine was probably the lightest an MMA fighter has ever gotten off for a positive marijuana test. There’s also the fact that, well, MMA fans and media alike don’t really give a shit about weed anymore — there’s much bigger fish to fry.

The real irony of the situation is that, had Eye simply admitted to her mistake like Pat Healy before her, most of us would have shrugged our shoulders and moved on from the situation entirely. Instead, Eye’s denial of the claims against her (and subsequent Twitter rant) made a story out of nothing and has left her in a much worse standing with fans than any failed marijuana test ever could. Not to mention the fallout that could come from Eye’s admittal to being on blood thinners, which could make it incredibly difficult for her to secure a fight license moving forward. I guess that’s why they say “the truth shall set you free” and all that.

But as it stands, Eye will still fight Alexis Davis at UFC 170, and the Texas Athletic Commission might want to look into how they handle failed drug tests. Let’s just hope that Eye’s handling of this situation will serve as a “what not to do” blueprint to the Yancy Medeiros’ of the world moving forward.

–J. Jones

And the Fighter Who Failed His Drug Test at ‘UFC on FX 7? Is…[UPDATED]


(Don’t worry, it’s the guy on the bottom. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.)

Relax, Potato Nation, we can all rest assured knowing that Vitor Belfort did in fact beat the colon cannonballs out of Michael Bisping at UFC on FX 7 without needing a banned substance to do so (Author’s note: Not that we would judge him if he did. Because when you judge someone, it sounds like you are a God. And we live in a freedom country, where you are either a Republican or a Democrat. Who is right?). And while that’s all well and good, one of the tests from the event did come back positive, as Dana White had mentioned earlier this week.

According to Brazilian news outlet Tatame, the fighter who pissed dirty at UFC on FX 7 was…Thiago Tavares:

After many rumors, the results of doping tests UFC Sao Paulo left [Note: Fucking Google translate, I tell you]. According to TATAME, the name of the athlete caught is Thiago Tavares. Our sources, however, need not know the substance used for light weight. His suspension will be nine months.

Yep, the guy we last saw eating Khabib Nurmagomedov’s elbows like they were acarajes is the one who got popped for what we can only assume is some kind of steroid. It kind of makes sense when you realize that Tavares regularly drops 20 pounds in between fights to fulfill his double life as salsa artist Marc Anthony.


(Don’t worry, it’s the guy on the bottom. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.)

Relax, Potato Nation, we can all rest assured knowing that Vitor Belfort did in fact beat the colon cannonballs out of Michael Bisping at UFC on FX 7 without needing a banned substance to do so (Author’s note: Not that we would judge him if he did. Because when you judge someone, it sounds like you are a God. And we live in a freedom country, where you are either a Republican or a Democrat. Who is right?). And while that’s all well and good, one of the tests from the event did come back positive, as Dana White had mentioned earlier this week.

According to Brazilian news outlet Tatame, the fighter who pissed dirty at UFC on FX 7 was…Thiago Tavares:

After many rumors, the results of doping tests UFC Sao Paulo left [Note: Fucking Google translate, I tell you]. According to TATAME, the name of the athlete caught is Thiago Tavares. Our sources, however, need not know the substance used for light weight. His suspension will be nine months.

Yep, the guy we last saw eating Khabib Nurmagomedov’s elbows like they were acarajes is the one who got popped for what we can only assume is some kind of steroid. It kind of makes sense when you realize that Tavares regularly drops 20 pounds in between fights to fulfill his double life as salsa artist Marc Anthony. Thankfully, his karmatic punishment was delivered in the swiftest fashion possible via 27 unanswered shots to the dome. Big Dan DOES NOT allow that kind of insolence in his octagon.

The five year UFC veteran has yet to comment on his positive test, but feel free to start speculating what his excuse will be in the comments section. Personally, I’m going to go with the old “tainted supplements” defense, which seems to be the popular rebuttal amongst Brazilians. It’s all the acai berries if you ask me. Those damn stanozolol drostanalone-filled acai berries.

[UPDATE]

According to MMAJunkie, the mystery substance Tavares tested positive for was drostanalone, the weight-cutting steroid of choice for such MMA fighters as King Mo Lawal and Hermes Franca. Chalk up another entry in the CagePotato Steroid Bust Timeline. 

–J. Jones

Conspiracy Theory Alert: Rafael Cavalcante Believes CSAC “Wanted to Harm Him”


(“No way! You were the completely innocent victim of a vast conspiracy aimed at soiling your reputation TOO?! Somebody call Lance, we’ve got some work to do.”) 

You know, just once I would like to hear an athlete take full responsibility for their actions without needing an hour-long Oprah special to do so. I realize that as fans, we often refuse to acknowledge that the people we falsely idolize are capable of wrongdoing, but if the athletes that continue to get busted for banned substances/steroids/stevia were truly concerned about their fanbase, they probably wouldn’t be trying to cheat the system in the first place.

So you’ll excuse my rush to judgement, but suffice it to say, I ain’t buying the conspiracy theory that former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante laid out in a recent interview with Globo Esporte. As you might recall, Cavalcante tested positive for Stanozolol in the aftermath of his win over Mike Kyle last May, and was subsequently denied an appeal by the California State Athletic Commission in the months that followed. Although if you were to ask Rafael, he would tell you that the blood — or rather, the urine — is on the CSAC’s hands:

The organizers wanted to harm me. I had conducted a test in Brazil a week before the fight. I would not be so stupid to take any banned substance, the type of anabolic they claimed I took in fact makes a person gain weight. I’m already a heavyweight, would not take that. 

The urine sample was manipulated. When the form was submitted, it was dated on May 18, 2012, but in reality the sample was collected a day later on may 19. When we checked the form more carefully, we saw that there was another mistake. The collection was made at the HP Pavilion, where the event was held, but in the form it says collection was made at the hotel where we were staying.


(“No way! You were the completely innocent victim of a vast conspiracy aimed at soiling your reputation TOO?! Somebody call Lance, we’ve got some work to do.”) 

You know, just once I would like to hear an athlete take full responsibility for their actions without needing an hour-long Oprah special to do so. I realize that as fans, we often refuse to acknowledge that the people we falsely idolize are capable of wrongdoing, but if the athletes that continue to get busted for banned substances/steroids/stevia were truly concerned about their fanbase, they probably wouldn’t be trying to cheat the system in the first place.

So you’ll excuse my rush to judgement, but suffice it to say, I ain’t buying the conspiracy theory that former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante laid out in a recent interview with Globo Esporte. As you might recall, Cavalcante tested positive for Stanozolol in the aftermath of his win over Mike Kyle last May, and was subsequently denied an appeal by the California State Athletic Commission in the months that followed. Although if you were to ask Rafael, he would tell you that the blood — or rather, the urine — is on the CSAC’s hands:

The organizers wanted to harm me. I had conducted a test in Brazil a week before the fight. I would not be so stupid to take any banned substance, the type of anabolic they claimed I took in fact makes a person gain weight. I’m already a heavyweight, would not take that. 

The urine sample was manipulated. When the form was submitted, it was dated on May 18, 2012, but in reality the sample was collected a day later on may 19. When we checked the form more carefully, we saw that there was another mistake. The collection was made at the HP Pavilion, where the event was held, but in the form it says collection was made at the hotel where we were staying.

Now, it’s a well known fact that CSAC has bungled a drug test or two in their day — most notoriously in the case of Sean Sherk — to the point that they vowed to completely revamp their drug-testing system in the past. But like we said, that was years ago, and unless CSAC is still going around using dirty vials to take their samples, Cavalcante is probably just bullshitting us here.

In either case, Cavalcante continued to lob accusations at the members of the athletic committee like it was going out of style:

 You filed a lawsuit against the CSAC?
Went in and managed to dissolve the committee. The chief inspector of the commission, Che Guevara, lied in front of the judge. He said that it was he who collected my urine, and was the inspector of the commission Roy Fahri. Until the documents were signed with different people.

Why do you think they did this?
Tough talk, do not want to accuse anyone (Author’s note: Yeah, except you just did.), but they did not accept the defeat of Mike, big star of the event.

Let’s back the truck up here for a second: The chief inspector’s name was Che Guevara? CHE FREAKING GUEVARA?! Either Cavalcante actually was the victim of some dirty shit last May or he is some kind of Verbal Kint/Keyser Soze evil genius who crafted a completely fictional story based on book titles and stray papers that littered the interviewer’s office in order to cover his tracks. Or Google translate sucks donkey rectum. Based on my past experience uncovering conspiracy theories, I’m going to go with option #2. There’s no way that you’re going to convince me that Mike Kyle was the big star of any MMA event.

Anyone buying Cavalcante’s story?

–J. Jones