One Year Since Last Fight, Cris Cyborg Plots Next Move, With Bout Likely in August

Filed under: Strikeforce, MMA Fighting Exclusive, NewsLast Sunday was an anniversary that Cris “Cyborg” Santos would rather have not reached, and certainly did not celebrate. June 26 marked one year since her last fight, a year in her athletic prime gi…

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Last Sunday was an anniversary that Cris “Cyborg” Santos would rather have not reached, and certainly did not celebrate. June 26 marked one year since her last fight, a year in her athletic prime given away to opponent issues, contract negotiations and promoter changeover.

In August 2009, Cyborg and Gina Carano became the first women to headline a major MMA event. It was a spectacularly successful promotion, averaging 576,000 viewers and setting a new MMA ratings record for Showtime. The women had the center spotlight and delivered. The broadcast peaked with over 850,000 viewers tuning in to watch Cyborg and Carano battle. Santos won via first-round TKO to become Strikeforce‘s first middleweight champion. For a woman who was rapidly becoming MMA’s queen, it was a crowning moment. Afterward, she defended the belt twice, knocking out Marloes Coenen and Jan Finney.

And then, it was like she disappeared.

It’s been a year since. On Tuesday, CagePotato.com reported that Cyborg is now a free agent. When reached by MMA Fighting, Cyborg’s camp declined any comment on her contract status. Sources with knowledge of the situation, however, say that in fact, June 26 was the deadline to finalize a new deal, and the date came and went with little dialogue.

Before time ever ran out on her deal though, Cyborg (10-1) was looking at other options. Cyborg’s contract was exclusive to the U.S., giving her the opportunity to scour for fights elsewhere around the world. A source with knowledge of the situation told MMA Fighting that a previously rumored August 6 fight in Brazil has been “green-lit” and that though her opponent has not been finalized, she is contracted to compete at the event and is currently in the midst of training camp.

Despite that, it is Cyborg’s hope to reach a new deal with Strikeforce. According to two sources, the sides were close to a new agreement late last year before the promotion was purchased by Zuffa. After the Zuffa-Strikeforce sale went through, negotiations stalled for a time due to issues related to the acquisition before recently beginning anew. Talks have gone slowly since, though there is still the possibility of a return to the fold.

Even though the year-benchmark has come and gone, the two sides continue to communicate in hopes of extending the relationship. Until then, Cyborg stays busy. She continues on the seminar circuit, helping her husband — fighter Evangelista Santos — rehabilitate from a recent shoulder injury, and training for her August bout. Other promotions are likely to begin bidding for her talents as well. Her Strikeforce career and the championship belt remain in limbo.

She’s been dominant since arriving on the international scene, but now she’s just looking for a steady place to work. Two years ago, Strikeforce boasted arguably the only two female stars in MMA: Cyborg and Carano. With Carano on an indefinite leave and Cyborg still unsigned, those valuable pieces have slipped away. Cyborg still wants in to the new Strikeforce, but whether the two sides can strike a deal is anybody’s guess.

Asked for a gut reaction on whether the two would find common ground and reach a mutually beneficial agreeement, a source close to the action paused before letting out a big sigh.

“To be honest, I just don’t see it happening,” the source said.

 

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Nate Marquardt Breaks Silence on Suspension, UFC Firing

Filed under: Fighting, UFC, MMA Fighting Exclusive, NewsTaking full responsibility for the problems that led to his firing over the weekend, Nate Marquardt explained that a high testosterone level caused by hormone replacement therapy (HRT) led to the …

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Taking full responsibility for the problems that led to his firing over the weekend, Nate Marquardt explained that a high testosterone level caused by hormone replacement therapy (HRT) led to the medical suspension that knocked him from the main event of the recent UFC on Versus 4.

Making his first public statements since the incident, Marquardt appeared with manager Lex McMahon on The MMA Hour for a one-hour interview to address the cause of his termination, which had been until now a mystery.

He explained that in August 2010, issues with sluggishness, memory loss and irritability led him to see his primary care physician, who discovered he suffered from low testosterone levels and recommended HRT. Marquardt applied for and received an exemption from the New Jersey state athletic commission for his March 2011 fight over Dan Miller.

The approval though, came with a caveat. After the fight, Marquardt needed to stop the treatment for eight weeks so a New Jersey commission-approved endocrinologist could re-check his levels and make sure his natural levels were indeed low, making the therapy a medical necessity.

In the meantime, though, Marquardt accepted the fight with Story, and attempted to gain HRT clearance in Pennsylvania, the host state of the scheduled fight.

Because of the eight-week treatment absence, Marquardt’s levels fell low, and with three weeks remaining to his fight, Marquardt’s doctor gave him a testosterone shot to combat the problem. Marquardt’s levels were regularly monitored and as he approached fight week, he knew they were high, but expected them to drop to satisfactory levels by weigh-in day.

“The week of the fight I requested several tests,” Marquardt said. “Each test showed that the levels were going down. I took a test on weigh-in day, and it was still above the range the athletic commission was going to let me fight.”

“But [it was] in close proximity, and it had been trending down significantly throughout the week,” McMahon added.

At that point, Marquardt was informed he was not going to be allowed to fight and put on suspension.

“There are things I messed up,” he said. “I have to take responsibility.”

But, however, one thing the duo stressed is that Marquardt never made an effort to hide anything, and that he had been in constant contact with Pennsylvania’s commission as well as the UFC, which was aware of the issue. In fact, not only had he gone through New Jersey, but also fights in Texas and Germany, in which he disclosed the situation to the governing bodies. (In Germany, where there is no commission, the UFC regulated itself.)

“Nate was hiding nothing,” McMahon said. “He made every effort to comply. When he found out his results were high, he ran out of time.”

Looking back, Marquardt, who cried at two different points of the interview, regrets several actions that may or may not have contributed to the problem. One thing he pointed out was that several years ago, he regularly took androstenediol, a popular supplement that was sold over-the-counter at nutrition shops until being reclassified as a steroid in 2005 and banned. Marquardt said he took the supplement for several years and wonders if it could have compromised his system and led to low testosterone production.

He also said he should have better monitored his ranges through blood tests soon after taking his first testosterone shot.

In addition, he added that when he went through the New Jersey commission protocol for an exemption, they raised some red flags about his doctor, including that he had prescribed an “off-label” prescription for Marquardt, basically meaning he had furnished Marquardt with a drug that was designed for a different use.

“From what I understood, it was common for doctors to use it for that reason,” Marquardt said.

In retrospect, his team admits that should have been something that alerted their radar.

“The NJ commission sent a very clear statement that the doctor he was using had been incomplete, was using protocols that were not approved by the USADA,” McMahon said. “At that point in time, that should have been a significant indicator to go see a specialist, to go see someone whose core competency was this. So I think that’s another area where Nate and our team have to take responsibility. At the end of the day, you’re dealing with a high-level professional athlete, one of the best fighters in the world. How could you potentially jeopardize that situation? Go to the best doctor you could get your hands on.”

McMahon and Marquardt said he will no longer be using his original doctor and have begun the process of finding a highly qualified specialist.

But as of now, his MMA career remains in limbo. Marquardt said that he took a test on Sunday morning that had him well within the standard to fight. He hopes to be taken off suspension as early as Wednesday, when the Pennsylvania commission members are scheduled to meet and review the most recent set of tests.

But what is next for him remains for now, anyone’s guess. McMahon said he’s already received contract and fight offers for Marquardt, and that when he’s ready to move on, it won’t take long to find him a deal.

Curiously, after a 14-fight tenure with the UFC, Marquardt and his team found out he had been fired like everyone else, through Dana White’s online video just after weigh-ins. The two only had a short conversation after he was suspended by the commission, with White asking him “How you can you let this happen?” Because of White’s anger, Marquardt said he was not overly shocked that he was cut, and that it was something he “half-expected.” He added that he hopes to get another chance to fight in the UFC one day, but that it’s something out of his control.

“I just want to get past this situation right now, get off suspension, let the dust settle and go from there,” he said, adding that when he does return, it will be as a welterweight.

If there is one silver lining to this all, Marquardt says that the HRT use might have saved his marriage. The treatment, he said, took away the moodiness and irritability that made him difficult to live with.

It’s a choice he had reinforced shortly after he lost out on his big fight, and got fired from his big job. When speculation abounded and rumors and disgust were hurled his way, Team Marquardt closed its ranks.

“Of course it’s a nightmare and very stressful and unimaginable in certain instances, but at the same time, I lean on my faith in God,” said Marquardt, who apologized to the UFC as well as his sponsors, friends and family. “My wife has been so supportive. I got back to the hotel after weigh-ins. My family was there, and I realized I’m still such a blessed man. My daughter’s there, and my wife. I still feel very blessed.”

 

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Pennsylvania Commission Confirms Nate Marquardt Did Not Fail Drug Test

Filed under: UFC, MMA Fighting Exclusive, NewsNate Marquardt remains on suspension from the state of Pennsylvania after failing to receive medical clearance prior to the weekend’s UFC on Versus event. In the aftermath of the shocking development, which…

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Nate Marquardt remains on suspension from the state of Pennsylvania after failing to receive medical clearance prior to the weekend’s UFC on Versus event. In the aftermath of the shocking development, which included Marquardt’s firing from the promotion, many questions have arisen.

Which part of the medical review did Marquardt fail to clear? How did six weeks go by without a resolution? And how did Pennsylvania suspend Marquardt when it appeared he’d never been licensed in the first place?

While most of the situation is still shrouded in mystery, at least one of those questions can be answered.

Gregory Sirb, the executive director of the state’s athletic commission told MMA Fighting on Monday that Marquardt had indeed been granted a license to fight, pending medical clearance.

“He was licensed. He completed all his paperwork for licensing probably a week before,” Sirb said.

But Sirb said that regardless of whether or not the license had been granted, Marquardt would have faced the same possible outcome for failing to clear his medical issue.

“He knew full well what the ramifications were, whether licensed or not,” Sirb said. Sirb told reporters on Sunday that Marquardt had six weeks to resolve an outstanding issue, but would not divulge what it was. Neither would UFC president Dana White. Sirb has also said that Marquardt will be taken off suspension once he clears the issue.



According to the commission’s website, while in the course of applying for a license, a professional fighter must provide a negative HIV, Hepatits C and Hepatitis B surface antigen exam. They must also provide the results of an annual medical exam. That exam is wide-ranging and covers potential issues related to vision, lungs, heart rate, the nervous system, coordination and more that could disqualify a fighter from competition. In addition, there is language in the regulations that offers the commission the latitude to request other exams. The stated medical requirements are similar to those of other states, including fight hubs Nevada and New Jersey.

All of the aforementioned test results are considered the fighter’s private medical information and kept confidential under federal HIPAA laws. Federal or Pennsylvania state law does not, however, prohibit disclosure of a positive drug test result, nor the type of drug which led to a confirmed positive test.

Sirb confirmed that if Marquardt had failed a drug test, the commission would have released those findings.

“I’ve been here 22 years and we do not embarrass anybody,” he said. “But we would have said, ‘drug test.'”

To date, Marquardt and his team have said little regarding the situation. On Saturday, his team released a statement to MMA Fighting which read, “I was looking forward to my welterweight debut. I’m sorry I let everyone down.” On Sunday, he tweeted, “I’m sorry to all my fans and the UFC for not passing the medicals for tonight’s fight. I’m heart broken I couldn’t fight, but I will b (sic) back.”

Marquardt is expected to make his first extended statements about the matter on Tuesday’s edition of The MMA Hour, which airs at 1 pm on MMAFighting.com.

 

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Ovince St-Preux vs. Joe Cason Slated for Strikeforce Challengers 17

Filed under: Strikeforce, MMA Fighting Exclusive, VideosStrikeforce light heavyweight prospect Ovince St-Preux (10-4) will meet newcomer Joe Cason (9-1) at Strikeforce Challengers 17 on July 22, MMA Fighting has learned from sources close to the even…

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Strikeforce light heavyweight prospect Ovince St-Preux (10-4) will meet newcomer Joe Cason (9-1) at Strikeforce Challengers 17 on July 22, MMA Fighting has learned from sources close to the event.

OSP, who went 6-0 in 2010, was discussed as a potential opponent for Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante prior to Zuffa acquiring Strikeforce, but that fight was scrapped after the purchase.

The Haitian-American St-Preux, a former linebacker for the University of Tennessee, holds wins over Abongo Humphrey, Benji Radach and Antwain Britt in Strikeforce.

Cason most recently defeated former UFC fighter Sean Salmon via first-round TKO. He won his last eight fights in a row, primarily on the local Iowa scene.

Strikeforce Challengers 17 will mark the organization’s first event in Las Vegas. It will be held at the Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort and will air on Showtime. The main event will feature Roger Bowling vs. Bobby Voelker III.

 

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Best of Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum Interviews

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Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum is officially in the books, so it’s time to look back at all the personalities we talked to leading up to the Showtime event in Dallas and after the fights at the American Airlines Center.

 

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Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum is officially in the books, so it’s time to look back at all the personalities we talked to leading up to the Showtime event in Dallas and after the fights at the American Airlines Center.

 

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Siyar Bahadurzada Remains Quiet About Future Plans

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MMA Fighting recently spoke to welterweight prospect Siyar Bahadurzada about whether he will be fighting for Zuffa in the near future, whether he learned a lesson from his recent outburst against against Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, fighting teammates and more.

 

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MMA Fighting recently spoke to welterweight prospect Siyar Bahadurzada about whether he will be fighting for Zuffa in the near future, whether he learned a lesson from his recent outburst against against Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, fighting teammates and more.

 

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