Drug test results are in from October 3rd’s Bellator 127 event in Temecula, California, and brother, they are embarrassing. Sherdog reports that four fighters on the card failed their post-fight drug screenings for banned substances, according to information released by the California State Athletic Commission. Those fighters are…
– UFC veteran Rob Emerson, who popped positive for Modafinil, a sleep disorder drug that is used recreationally as a pep-pill. Emerson lost a decision to Rafael Silva at Bellator 127, and his loss will stand.
– Strikeforce/KOTC vet Keith Berry, who tested positive for elevated testosterone levels and marijuana. His split decision win against Joe Pacheco will be changed to a no contest.
– Light-heavyweight Nick Moghaddam, who also tested positive for elevated testosterone levels and marijuana. Moghaddam’s unanimous decision loss to Ray Sloan will stand.
Drug test results are in from October 3rd’s Bellator 127 event in Temecula, California, and brother, they are embarrassing. Sherdog reports that four fighters on the card failed their post-fight drug screenings for banned substances, according to information released by the California State Athletic Commission. Those fighters are…
– UFC veteran Rob Emerson, who popped positive for Modafinil, a sleep disorder drug that is used recreationally as a pep-pill. Emerson lost a decision to Rafael Silva at Bellator 127, and his loss will stand.
– Strikeforce/KOTC vet Keith Berry, who tested positive for elevated testosterone levels and marijuana. His split decision win against Joe Pacheco will be changed to a no contest.
– Light-heavyweight Nick Moghaddam, who also tested positive for elevated testosterone levels and marijuana. Moghaddam’s unanimous decision loss to Ray Sloan will stand.
– Welterweight Fernando Gonzalez, who tested positive for marijuana. Gonzalez scored a first-round TKO against Karo Parisyan at Bellator 127; at this point, the CSAC has not confirmed whether or not Gonzalez’s win will be overturned.
I don’t understand it; Bellator is usually such a professional operation (LOL J/K). So, is it just a fluke that the CSAC caught four fish on the same event? Well, not exactly. As Sherdog explains, “All 22 fighters competing at Bellator 127 provided urine samples that were sent to a UCLA Olympic analytical lab that is World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited.”
Yes, all of the fighters were tested — a marked contrast from the way that Bellator used to run drug testing, which was basically not at all. In other words, the more shows that Bellator runs in which its fighters are actually held accountable for what’s in their bodies, the more we’ll see multiple fighters pissing hot on the same card. 2014 is indeed the druggiest year in MMA history, and we’ve still got two more months to get through.
“As I always said I have nothing to hide from anyone,” Belfort ironically wrote on Instagram, after four months of hiding his February test results and a year-and-a-half of dodging questions about his TRT usage. “I am releasing my statement along with all my [private] test results. Looking forward to get my license in Nevada and fight in July. Thank you all!”
In anticipation for my hearing before the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), I want to address questions concerning a drug test I took back on February 7, 2014, that was requested by the NSAC.
At the time that test was taken, I was considering filing for a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) from the NSAC. While I had not made formal application for a TUE, the NSAC nonetheless requested I take the test and I willingly complied. I further confirmed to the NSAC, in writing, the widely known fact that I was then presently on TRT and had been for many years leading up to that test and that I had further taken the TRT dosage recommended by my doctors the day prior.
“As I always said I have nothing to hide from anyone,” Belfort ironically wrote on Instagram, after four months of hiding his February test results and a year-and-a-half of dodging questions about his TRT usage. “I am releasing my statement along with all my [private] test results. Looking forward to get my license in Nevada and fight in July. Thank you all!”
In anticipation for my hearing before the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), I want to address questions concerning a drug test I took back on February 7, 2014, that was requested by the NSAC.
At the time that test was taken, I was considering filing for a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) from the NSAC. While I had not made formal application for a TUE, the NSAC nonetheless requested I take the test and I willingly complied. I further confirmed to the NSAC, in writing, the widely known fact that I was then presently on TRT and had been for many years leading up to that test and that I had further taken the TRT dosage recommended by my doctors the day prior.
The results of the February 7, 2014, test indicated that my testosterone level was above the therapeutic range. While levels slightly outside the normal therapeutic range are not uncommon for some undergoing a TRT regimen, and my doctors immediately modified my therapy to return me to within the therapeutic range (as you can see the 22nd February test results was normal), I do want to acknowledge that the February 7, 2014 test indicated my level was above the range.
Since that February 7, 2014 test, I have taken several subsequent tests, in late February, March, April and May, and the results of each test indicate my levels were either normal or below normal. To avoid any ambiguity, I am releasing, along with this statement, the results of all the test noted above and will provide the same to NSCA for their consideration as part of my licensing application. I further welcome any additional testing that the NSAC deems appropriate and necessary with respect to being granted the privilege of a license to fight here in the State of Nevada.
Shortly thereafter, on February 27, 2014, the NSAC banned all TRT and I stopped my TRT treatment that very same day. Now that I am applying for a license in Nevada, I don’t want any clouds hanging over my ability to compete and I understand it is my responsibility to prove to the NSAC that I have the requisite fitness to be licensed in Nevada.
I truly appreciate and thank the Commission for considering my application, and I look forward to providing any information and answering any questions that the NSAC might have on June 17. And if the NSAC sees fit to grant my application, I look forward to fighting on July 5, 2014 in Las Vegas and again proving that I am one of the best fighters in the world.
At this point the UFC’s only official statement is the following update on its website: “The UFC organization supports Vitor Belfort’s application for a license to compete in Nevada, and we respect the Nevada Athletic Commission and its licensing process. Pending Commission approval, we look forward to a great fight between Vitor Belfort and Chael Sonnen at UFC 175 on July 5.”
Fun fact, via MookieAlexander: “Today’s Vitor news means Anderson Silva has faced an incredible 7 different opponents who have failed a UFC drug test. That would be: Chris Leben (2x offender), Nate Marquardt (2x), James Irvin, Forrest Griffin, Chael Sonnen, Vitor, & Stephan Bonnar (2x). Marquardt counts as a 2x offender because he couldn’t get his levels down in time for the Story fight, which is why he pulled out.”
Remember that surprise drug test that Vitor Belfort had to undergo in February? The one where the results were kept private — and were “not relevant” according to Belfort’s lawyer and UFC president Dana White himself, because Belfort wasn’t currently licensed to fight in Nevada? Well, Belfort probably tested positive for elevated testosterone. I mean, we already assumed that was the case, but now we have Joe Rogan saying so explicitly on an episode of his podcast over the weekend:
“They did it to Vitor, random drug test, and Vitor was on testosterone. And that was the reason that testosterone got banned in the first place. The whole thing went down when Vitor tested positive…Before that, [the NSAC was] considering him for a testosterone exemption, and there was a lot of talk whether or not he would be up for a testosterone exemption. But, because when they him he tested positive, they scrapped the whole testosterone program.”
So how did Rogan get hip to this inside info? Actually, we’re not sure — and the fact that he leaked it on his podcast probably didn’t sit well with the UFC. But according to a Yahoo! Cagewriter report from our pal Elias Cepeda, the mystery of Belfort’s random drug test will be cleared up once and for all on June 17th, when the results will be revealed in a NSAC licensing hearing…
Remember that surprise drug test that Vitor Belfort had to undergo in February? The one where the results were kept private — and were “not relevant” according to Belfort’s lawyer and UFC president Dana White himself, because Belfort wasn’t currently licensed to fight in Nevada? Well, Belfort probably tested positive for elevated testosterone. I mean, we already assumed that was the case, but now we have Joe Rogan saying so explicitly on an episode of his podcast over the weekend:
“They did it to Vitor, random drug test, and Vitor was on testosterone. And that was the reason that testosterone got banned in the first place. The whole thing went down when Vitor tested positive…Before that, [the NSAC was] considering him for a testosterone exemption, and there was a lot of talk whether or not he would be up for a testosterone exemption. But, because when they him he tested positive, they scrapped the whole testosterone program.”
So how did Rogan get hip to this inside info? Actually, we’re not sure — and the fact that he leaked it on his podcast probably didn’t sit well with the UFC. But according to a Yahoo! Cagewriter report from our pal Elias Cepeda, the mystery of Belfort’s random drug test will be cleared up once and for all on June 17th, when the results will be revealed in a NSAC licensing hearing…
“The test results will be made public, yes,” Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Bob Bennett told Cagewriter. “If Mr. Belfort appears at his hearing, which I’m sure he will, the commissioners will get to question him about any topics they want and I’m sure that will come up.”
Belfort is currently slated to fight Chael Sonnen at UFC 175 in July, as long as he gets licensed in that 6/17 hearing. Considering he was previously caught for steroids in 2006, and (allegedly) failed an out-of-competition drug test in February, the commission would be well within their rights to turn down his application.
But what if Belfort is licensed? What does that say about the NSAC’s power (or lack of it) in the post-Keith Kizer era? The UFC is promoting Belfort vs. Sonnen as if licensing is just a formality — which sort of implies that the NSAC is a toothless organization that rolls over whenever there’s a lot of money on the line. Maybe the UFC is just crossing its fingers and hoping it all works out. Either way, a precedent will be set on June 17th. Stay tuned…
Three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen is one of the many fighters impacted by the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s banning of testosterone-replacement therapy, and he believes his quality of life is being seriously impacted because of the decision. Speaking with Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole, The American Gangster explained that testosterone is medicine he needs to […]
Three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen is one of the many fighters impacted by the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s banning of testosterone-replacement therapy, and he believes his quality of life is being seriously impacted because of the decision. Speaking with Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole, The American Gangster explained that testosterone is medicine he needs to […]
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Fighters who are affected by last week’s Nevada Athletic Commission to ban the usage of testosterone replacement therapy are in trouble. Where they were once handed a golden ticket that allowed what amounted to legalized cheating, fighters who have relied on TRT will now have to compete […]
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Fighters who are affected by last week’s Nevada Athletic Commission to ban the usage of testosterone replacement therapy are in trouble. Where they were once handed a golden ticket that allowed what amounted to legalized cheating, fighters who have relied on TRT will now have to compete […]
That’s a very optimistic estimate, considering the deterioration that a person’s body goes through when they stop hormone-replacement therapy — especially if they’re not doing it correctly. In an eye-opening new interview with Fightland, endocrinologist Dr. Neil Goodman shared his insight about fighters who get on TRT, and all the awful things that happen when they try to get off of it. Some excerpts are below:
I’ve been involved with professional athletes who’ve been referred to me by their agents to get them off steroids because they knew they were on them and going to get caught, so I’m very familiar with this. I think this is a problem in all of competitive sports in that a lot of these guys begin in gyms, they’re taking all kinds of anabolic steroids. Then they go off and go to the doctor, and their testosterone’s low. The original cause of low testosterone is that most of these guys in competitive sports are taking excessively high doses of almost anything they can get their hands on.
Most men who legitimately have low testosterone have it because of a disease they were born with or developed within infancy and childhood. There are very few adult men who suddenly have low testosterone unless they have a pituitary tumor or they have serious illnesses. The biggest cause of low testosterone in any man is diabetes, obesity, hypertension, sleep apnea, or other serious medical diseases, so their low testosterone is a minor point to their really serious health condition that it comes with. The men who are born with a deficiency of testosterone have been on treatment since they were children, otherwise they would have never gone through puberty…
If a young guy comes in with low testosterone, my first thought is this guy’s been taking steroids. And I’m usually right.
(MMA’s new stance on hormone-therapy could spell the end of two legendary careers.)
That’s a very optimistic estimate, considering the deterioration that a person’s body goes through when they stop testosterone replacement therapy — especially if they’re not doing it correctly. In an eye-opening new interview with Fightland, endocrinologist Dr. Neil Goodman shared his insight about fighters who get on TRT, and all the awful things that happen when they try to get off of it. Some excerpts are below:
I’ve been involved with professional athletes who’ve been referred to me by their agents to get them off steroids because they knew they were on them and going to get caught, so I’m very familiar with this. I think this is a problem in all of competitive sports in that a lot of these guys begin in gyms, they’re taking all kinds of anabolic steroids. Then they go off and go to the doctor, and their testosterone’s low. The original cause of low testosterone is that most of these guys in competitive sports are taking excessively high doses of almost anything they can get their hands on.
Most men who legitimately have low testosterone have it because of a disease they were born with or developed within infancy and childhood. There are very few adult men who suddenly have low testosterone unless they have a pituitary tumor or they have serious illnesses. The biggest cause of low testosterone in any man is diabetes, obesity, hypertension, sleep apnea, or other serious medical diseases, so their low testosterone is a minor point to their really serious health condition that it comes with. The men who are born with a deficiency of testosterone have been on treatment since they were children, otherwise they would have never gone through puberty…
If a young guy comes in with low testosterone, my first thought is this guy’s been taking steroids. And I’m usually right.
Let’s take a guy that’s legitimately stopping testosterone. He goes to his doctor and says, “Look, I really need it because there’s something wrong with my testes,” he goes to a doctor, the doctor does blood [work], and sure enough, the guy’s testosterone is in the toilet because he’s been on it. When you come off of it, your testes are not working. And it may be months or years, or never, until they ever start making testosterone.
If the guy’s honest and he’s going to start working with someone like myself, we’re going to try the best we can to get him to normal testosterone levels. I’ll say to him, “Okay, what are you taking?” He’s honest with me and says he’s just taking injectable testosterone. I’ll say, “Stop it.” In a couple of weeks, I’ll do some blood work and see what his baseline level is after he comes off the stuff. Then I’ll put him on some gel that’s going to give him a steady amount of testosterone, bring his level up to give him a “normal” level of testosterone that he can stay on, let him have a chance to recover, and see what we can do after a few months.
Some guys, I can get their testes to start working again. We use a drug called Clomiphene, and for those guys, it wakes up the brain computer that runs the show because it’s been shut down. If I have a shot at them coming back to normal with tapering down their gel and keeping them on Clomiphene, over about three or six months or more, I’ll start to see their testosterone production come back…
Every single guy whose exemption is getting taken away is going to come up with very low testosterone, and he won’t be able to compete, at least on the level that he might have been competing at. Every guy that goes to the commission and stops getting these exemptions, they’re going to have to get some testosterone to just keep them normal. They won’t be able to compete because their testosterone will just plummet.
Their muscle strength will decline. They’ll put on some fat weight. Their moods will become depressive. They’ll have fatigue. It’ll be horrible — I feel bad for them. It’s going to be misery…I’m not saying all guys are going to have serious problems. It depends on what they’ve been on, how much they’ve been taking, what other drugs they’ve been on. It’s a mixed bag.
Any guy that’s coming off testosterone because of this ruling, he needs to see an endocrinologist. Do not go to any of these anti-aging guys. Don’t go to the family doctor. If he wants his health restored, he must see an endocrinologist. That’s my message, because that’s the only person with the training to help him deal with coming off the testosterone.
Win or lose, Dan Henderson’s rematch with Shogun Rua later this month could be the last night of his career; rebuilding his health without supplemental testosterone might not be possible, or worth the agony. As for Belfort, he just went from red-hot title contender to question mark. He’ll surely try to return to competition when his hormone levels return to normal, but it’s highly doubtful that he’ll ever look the same.
