Tag: NSAC

NSAC chairman slams Power Slap after six competitors test positive: ‘I didn’t know you needed to use steroids’

Power SlapDana White‘s Power Slap League is once again under scrutiny after six of its competitors tested positive for banned substances. From the moment it was announced, the UFC president’s latest pet project has been belittled by fight fans, calling it nothing more than “sanctioned brain trauma.” With the first season of the controversial series concluding […]

Power Slap

Dana White‘s Power Slap League is once again under scrutiny after six of its competitors tested positive for banned substances.

From the moment it was announced, the UFC president’s latest pet project has been belittled by fight fans, calling it nothing more than “sanctioned brain trauma.” With the first season of the controversial series concluding in March, the backlash finally began to die down. That was until the Nevada State Athletic Commission revealed that multiple Power Slap “athletes” have tested positive for an assortment of performance-enhancing drugs.

NSAC chairman Anthony Marnell responded to the lengthy list of suspended athletes under the Power Slap banner.

“Is there like a big bowl of performance-enhancing drugs down there somewhere that I don’t know about?” Marnell commented. “I haven’t seen this in quite a while. I didn’t know you needed to use steroids to slap but I guess we’re going to find out.”

In 2022, the NSAC unanimously approved the regulation of slap fighting in the state, a decision that former commission chairman Stephen Cloobeck would later regret.

“I made a mistake,” Cloobeck said about his vote in a statement sent to the Associated Press. “I’m not happy about it.”

Nevada State Athletic Commission Reveals Six Power Slap Competitors Who Have Been Suspended

Six men have been slapped with temporary suspensions after testing positive for a plethora of banned substances. MMA Fighting has obtained a list of names and the performance-enhancing drugs they are accused of ingesting, which you can see below:

T.J. Thomas, who competed in a slap fighting bout on March 9, suspended after testing positive for clomiphene, a hormone and metabolic modulator

Jay Rivera, who competed in a slap fighting bout on March 11, suspended after testing positive for GW-1516, sulfone and sulfoxide, hormone and metabolic modulators

Chris Thomas, who competed in a slap fighting bout on March 11, suspended after testing positive for Buprenorphine, a narcotic and its metabolite norbuprenorphine. Buprenorphine is a medication used to treat opioid use disorder.

Andrew Provost, who competed in a slap fighting bout on March 11, suspended after testing positive for Buprenorphine, a narcotic and it’s metabolite norbuprenorphine

Isaih Quinones, who competed in a slap fighting bout on March 11, suspended after testing positive for Norandrosterone, drostanolone, tamoxifen and boldenone, which are anabolic steroids. His “A” sample was tested and showed “exogenous origin of testosterone.”

Frank Holland, who competed in a slap fighting bout on March 11, suspended after testing positive for phentermine, a stimulant that can be prescribed for weight loss.

It’s another setback for Power Slap after dismal ratings during its first season on TBS convinced the network to decline a second-season option. Originally planning to air the March 11 finale on pay-per-view, Dana White was forced to move the event to Rumble, a little-known streaming service typically geared toward conservative-friendly news and content. Following the finale, White revealed his plan to film the next two seasons of Power Slap in Abu Dhabi with both eventually airing on Rumble.

“I’ve got a two-year deal with Rumble. The Abu Dhabi deal, we’re still working it out, but I’d love to do is two years with them too, do season 2 and season 3 over there,” said White at the Power Slap post-fight press conference.

Chael Sonnen believes the NSAC beat Conor McGregor to the punch in filing lawsuit following UFC 229 brawl

chael sonnenFormer three-time UFC title challenger, and two-time WEC title challenger Chael Sonnen still believes the Nevada State Athletic Commission is responsible for the brawl that took place immediately following UFC 229. Sonnen is convinced that the NSAC was able to keep themselves from a lawsuit from Conor McGregor after failing to do their job at […]

chael sonnen

Former three-time UFC title challenger, and two-time WEC title challenger Chael Sonnen still believes the Nevada State Athletic Commission is responsible for the brawl that took place immediately following UFC 229.

Sonnen is convinced that the NSAC was able to keep themselves from a lawsuit from Conor McGregor after failing to do their job at the pay-per-view event, which he recounted on his YouTube channel recently.

Sonnen went on record stating the following in regards to the post-fight brawl:

“One of my all-time favorites was what Nevada pulled on Conor McGregor the day that team Khabib jumped the cage and attacked Conor. I don’t even know if you guys know that. I think it was a hundred-and-fifty grand. If I’m wrong it was (a hundred-and) 75.

“They fined Conor. Now the commission doesn’t have a whole bunch of jobs, but they damn sure have one, which is to keep the fighters safe. Conor was where he was supposed to be, doing what he was supposed to be doing. The apparatus that was supposed to be secured was failed to be secured and they went after Conor. It was absolutely brilliant.

“They didn’t make a mistake. They didn’t really think Conor did something wrong. They got some legal minds in a room and go after him before he files a lawsuit. And do it now. Come after him and give him a settle.

“Doesn’t matter if the kid is running at him or not, you have a 17 year old kid that got struck by a coach. The same concept is what happened to Conor McGregor. They have a job to keep him safe, (and) they failed. They now have exposure, so they went after Conor and Conor wrote them a check.”

In other words, Chael Sonnen believes Conor McGregor had every right to sue the NSAC following his title fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, but the athletic commission took their opportunity to do so first.

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Archives: Khabib Receives Nine-Month Suspension & $500,000 Fine (2019)

The following article was published on this day three years ago. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives. On This Day In MMA History… [ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 29, 2019, 12:33 PM] Title: Khabib Receives Nine-Month Suspension & $500,000 Fine Author: Fernando Quiles Jr. Khabib Nurmagomedov has […]

Continue Reading Archives: Khabib Receives Nine-Month Suspension & $500,000 Fine (2019) at MMA News.

The following article was published on this day three years ago. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.

On This Day In MMA History…

[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 29, 2019, 12:33 PM]

Title: Khabib Receives Nine-Month Suspension & $500,000 Fine

Author: Fernando Quiles Jr.

Khabib Nurmagomedov has received his punishment from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC).

Nurmagomedov was awaiting a final punishment for his role in the UFC 229 brawl. After submitting Conor McGregor back in October 2018, Nurmagomedov leaped into the crowd and went after the “Notorious” one’s teammate Dillon Danis. This sparked a brawl and punches were thrown from Nurmagomedov’s team.

At a commission hearing earlier today (Jan. 29), it was determined that “The Eagle” will be suspended for nine months and fined $500,000. Nurmagomedov’s suspension can be reduced to six months if he partakes in an anti-bullying PSA. The suspension is retroactive to Oct. 6.

Nurmagomedov’s ruling was handed down before McGregor’s. The “Notorious” one ended up being suspended for six months retroactive to Oct. 6 and he must pay a $50,000 fine. Nurmagomedov’s teammates Abubakar Nurmagomedov and Zubaira Tukhugov also received suspensions. Both men have been suspended for one year retroactive to Oct. 6 and will each pay a $25,000 fine.

Nurmagomedov took to his Twitter account and clearly wasn’t so enamored with McGregor’s suspension:

Many aren’t expecting Nurmagomedov to fight this summer as he will be celebrating Ramadan. It’s also unlikely that he will compete without Abubakar and Tukhugov in his corner.

What do you make of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s suspension?

Continue Reading Archives: Khabib Receives Nine-Month Suspension & $500,000 Fine (2019) at MMA News.

NSAC Denies Knowing About Conor McGregor Injury Before UFC 264

McGregorThe Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) had no idea about any pre-fight injury for Conor McGregor. McGregor broke his tibia last week at UFC 264 which led to a first-round TKO defeat via doctor stoppage to Dustin Poirier. McGregor has since claimed that he had stress fractures going into the fight and that many people […]

McGregor

The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) had no idea about any pre-fight injury for Conor McGregor.

McGregor broke his tibia last week at UFC 264 which led to a first-round TKO defeat via doctor stoppage to Dustin Poirier. McGregor has since claimed that he had stress fractures going into the fight and that many people had knowledge about it as well.

“Everyone keeps asking me at what point did the leg break?” McGregor said. “Ask [UFC president] Dana White, ask the UFC, ask Dr [Jeffrey] Davidson, the head doctor of the UFC. They knew… I had stress fractures on my leg going into that cage. There was debate about pulling out because I was sparring with no shin pads and I kicked the knee a few times, so I had multiple stress fractures in the shin bone above the ankle.”

“I even did a lot of training sessions when the ankle was sore, I still wouldn’t stop training, I used to train on my back and that’s how I developed those ground and pound shots from the back.”

The Irishman would later post images of his ankles being taped up during training camp as further proof of his claim.

Of course, if this really was the case, it’s not a good look for the NSAC who not only didn’t detect such an injury, but sanctioned McGregor to fight in Las Vegas.

That is why they have since claimed no knowledge of any such injury.

“If we ever knowingly had information a fighter wasn’t fit to fight, we wouldn’t let them compete,” NSAC executive director Bob Bennett said. “It would go to a doctor, and a doctor would make that decision as the expert.”

It would seem pretty hard to miss out and given that other doctors have also doubted McGregor’s claims, it’s fair to say we can dismiss it entirely.

NSAC Director Unsure On Dana White’s Plan To Hold Events In Las Vegas

UFC ApexThe Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) director Bob Bennett says no decision has been made about allowing UFC to host events in Las Vegas. In an email to MMA Fighting NSAC chief Bennett refused to confirm if he will allow events to take place at the UFC Apex facility next month and instead stated any […]

UFC Apex

The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) director Bob Bennett says no decision has been made about allowing UFC to host events in Las Vegas.

In an email to MMA Fighting NSAC chief Bennett refused to confirm if he will allow events to take place at the UFC Apex facility next month and instead stated any future decision will be guided by the science, he said.

“We will see what the data reveals based on the science of COVID-19 and move forward accordingly. We are closed until further notice, and once again the data from the science will determine future events accordingly.”

So far, the UFC have been forced to postpone four shows amid the coronavirus pandemic. Last week White has asked by Disney bosses to shut down his UFC 249 event which was set to take place at the Tachi Palace in California.

Earlier this week the UFC President announced he intends to host an event on May 9 and a full card of fights was released to the public. The venue for any potential event remains unclear although White did tell Variety fights would be taking place at the Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada starting in May, he said.

“We built the APEX facility next door just in time to save the day from this pandemic. Live fights will be produced out of there starting next month and for the foreseeable future.”

These latest comments from Bennett may well have thrown White’s plans into chaos. The card scheduled for May 9 will not have a home until the NSAC make a decision about how to move forward at the end of April.

One alternative could be found in White’s much talked about fight island. A private island has been secured by the UFC to host fights. The infrastructure is currently being built and White predicts he’ll be able to host fights on the island sooner rather than later.

Will the NSAC shut down UFC’s plans to host an event on May 9?

Khabib Nurmagomedov Remains Disinterested Fighting In Las Vegas Again

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov still isn’t interested in returning to Las Vegas. Nurmagomedov has held a grudge with the Nevada State Athletic Commission ever since UFC 229. After submitting Conor McGregor, Nurmagomedov hopped the f…

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov still isn’t interested in returning to Las Vegas. Nurmagomedov has held a grudge with the Nevada State Athletic Commission ever since UFC 229. After submitting Conor McGregor, Nurmagomedov hopped the fence and went after Dillon Danis. “The Eagle” had $1 million of his fight purse withheld by the NSAC and […]

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