Tag: UFC Fight Night 48

Cung Le’s HGH Suspension Lifted by UFC Due to ‘Lack of Conclusive Laboratory Results’


(Photo via Getty)

After being suspended from competition for 12 months due to a positive test for excessive human growth hormone (HGH) following UFC Fight Night 48, UFC middleweight Cung Le went on a public campaign arguing that the testing protocols used by the UFC for its August event in Macau were completely sub-standard. Essentially, the UFC farmed out the work to a local lab that maybe didn’t know what it was doing and destroyed Le’s sample so he couldn’t appeal the result.

Fortunately, the UFC has done the right thing by rescinding the suspension, and Le is now free to fight again. Here’s the official statement from UFC.com:

At UFC Fight Night Macao on August 23rd, UFC contracted with an independent drug testing laboratory in Hong Kong to perform urinalysis testing on all fighters on the card. Additionally, UFC requested the laboratory to test blood samples from 4 fighters for human growth hormone (HGH), erythropoietin (EPO) and testosterone.

One of the athletes who had his blood tested was Cung Le. The laboratory results from Le’s blood test were sent to the UFC and showed that his blood had a total HGH level outside the reference range. Based on such results, UFC officials determined that Le had violated his promotional agreement and the UFC Fighter Conduct Policy. Consequently, UFC decided that Le should be suspended from unarmed combat competition for 12 months.

Following the announcement of Le’s suspension, UFC officials have been provided with medical advice regarding the elevated total HGH present in Le’s system. In accordance with such medical advice, UFC has determined that Le’s elevated total HGH by itself does not prove that he took performance-enhancing drugs before the August 23rd bout. As a result, UFC has informed Le that his suspension is rescinded.


(Photo via Getty)

After being suspended from competition for 12 months due to a positive test for excessive human growth hormone (HGH) following UFC Fight Night 48, UFC middleweight Cung Le went on a public campaign arguing that the testing protocols used by the UFC for its August event in Macau were completely sub-standard. Essentially, the UFC farmed out the work to a local lab that maybe didn’t know what it was doing and destroyed Le’s sample so he couldn’t appeal the result.

Fortunately, the UFC has done the right thing by rescinding the suspension, and Le is now free to fight again. Here’s the official statement from UFC.com:

At UFC Fight Night Macao on August 23rd, UFC contracted with an independent drug testing laboratory in Hong Kong to perform urinalysis testing on all fighters on the card. Additionally, UFC requested the laboratory to test blood samples from 4 fighters for human growth hormone (HGH), erythropoietin (EPO) and testosterone.

One of the athletes who had his blood tested was Cung Le. The laboratory results from Le’s blood test were sent to the UFC and showed that his blood had a total HGH level outside the reference range. Based on such results, UFC officials determined that Le had violated his promotional agreement and the UFC Fighter Conduct Policy. Consequently, UFC decided that Le should be suspended from unarmed combat competition for 12 months.

Following the announcement of Le’s suspension, UFC officials have been provided with medical advice regarding the elevated total HGH present in Le’s system. In accordance with such medical advice, UFC has determined that Le’s elevated total HGH by itself does not prove that he took performance-enhancing drugs before the August 23rd bout. As a result, UFC has informed Le that his suspension is rescinded.

Le had requested an appeal of his suspension, and was entitled to arbitrate the drug test results and suspension. However, based on the lack of conclusive laboratory results, UFC officials deemed it appropriate to immediately rescind the suspension without the need for further proceedings.

The UFC organization has always been a leader when it comes to testing for performance-enhancing drugs in combat sports. All UFC athletes know they are subject to drug testing by an applicable state athletic commission, an international governing federation, or by an independent laboratory contracted by the UFC when no regulatory body is overseeing the event. In those cases where regulatory oversight is unavailable, UFC voluntarily chooses to adhere to the highest level of athlete health and safety protocols similar to if the event were being held in the state of Nevada.

It’s a somewhat embarrassing learning experience for the UFC, which has been trying to improve fighter drug testing lately by adding additional screenings for performance-enhancers like HGH and EPO. The problem is, not all testing facilities are created equal — and that’s exactly why the UFC needs to nail down a deal with a credible, truly independent drug-testing agency as soon as humanly possible.

Cung Le Tests Positive for HGH Following Michael Bisping Fight, Receives Nine-Month Suspension


(Ha-ha!)

The UFC announced this evening that middleweight Cung Le tested positive for HGH following his gruesome defeat at the hands of Michael Bisping at UFC Fight Night 48 in Macau last month. This is especially hilarious because of how adamant Le was before the fight about how he wasn’t using PEDs; that photo of him looking like the Incredible damn Hulk (see above, right) was just the result of hard work and good lighting and clean living and more assorted bullshit. Cung Le is a liar, and he’ll be punished for it. Here’s the full statement from the UFC:

UFC middleweight Cung Le tested positive for an excess level of Human Growth Hormone in his system following his fight at UFC Fight Night in Macao, China on August 23. Due to his positive test result, Le was suspended by the UFC and notified that he violated the UFC Fighter Conduct Policy and Promotional Agreement with Zuffa, LLC. The UFC has a strict, consistent policy against the use of any illegal and/or performance-enhancing drugs, stimulants or masking agents by our athletes. Le will serve a nine-month suspension and, at its conclusion, will need to pass a drug test before competing in the UFC again.

I have three things to say about this…


(Ha-ha!)

The UFC announced this evening that middleweight Cung Le tested positive for HGH following his gruesome defeat at the hands of Michael Bisping at UFC Fight Night 48 in Macau last month. This is especially hilarious because of how adamant Le was before the fight about how he wasn’t using PEDs; that photo of him looking like the Incredible damn Hulk (see above, right) was just the result of hard work and good lighting and clean living and more assorted bullshit. Cung Le is a liar, and he’ll be punished for it. Here’s the full statement from the UFC:

UFC middleweight Cung Le tested positive for an excess level of Human Growth Hormone in his system following his fight at UFC Fight Night in Macao, China on August 23. Due to his positive test result, Le was suspended by the UFC and notified that he violated the UFC Fighter Conduct Policy and Promotional Agreement with Zuffa, LLC. The UFC has a strict, consistent policy against the use of any illegal and/or performance-enhancing drugs, stimulants or masking agents by our athletes. Le will serve a nine-month suspension and, at its conclusion, will need to pass a drug test before competing in the UFC again.

I have three things to say about this…

1) As I wrote before the Bisping/Le fight, when it was announced that both fighters would be undergoing enhanced drug testing: “Of course, we probably won’t get the results of these tests until weeks after the fact, which does absolutely nothing to prevent potential cheaters from competing…if all these drug tests are timed so that big fights still get to proceed as scheduled, it doesn’t reflect well on the UFC’s priorities, or how serious they are about eradicating the PED epidemic.” Yep. Punishment clearly isn’t enough of a deterrent. The UFC needs to find a way to sift out the cheaters before they get into the cage.

2) Michael Bisping should earn an honorary spot in the UFC Hall of Fame for fighting the most confirmed drug users. I mean, good Lord: Chris Leben, Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, and now Cung Le? And I’m not even including Wanderlei Silva and Dan Henderson, who became the subject of PED/drug-testing controversies after Bisping fought them.

3) Cung Le will be 43 years old when he comes back from his suspension. He couldn’t beat a upper-mid-level contender when he had chemical help, and he’ll be even worse off without his medicine. Dude, just retire.

UFC Releases Apology After Dana White Kicks Out a Judge at UFC Fight Night 48


(Poor Dana. He has his good days and his bad days. / Photo via MMA in Asia)

A strange and unprecedented thing happened during the UFC Fight Night 48: Bisping vs. Le prelims on Saturday. After the first two fights ended in split-decisions, UFC president Dana White grabbed veteran judge Howard Hughes and told him to get lost:

“He was involved in the first fight and the second fight,” White said. “I told the guys to go let him grab some beer and some popcorn and go sit down and start watching some fights, not judging them.”

To clarify, Hughes was only singled out because he worked both fights, not because his scorecards were significantly worse than anybody else’s. In the opening bout between Milana Dudieva and Elizabeth Phillips, Hughes was one of the two judges to score it for Dudieva — a result that White said he actually agreed with — and in the next bout between Royston Wee and Yao Zhikui, Hughes was one of the two judges to score it for Wee. White did not agree with that decision, and it sent the UFC prez into “a pretty bad meltdown.”

While it’s kind of refreshing to see a bad judge get pulled off the mound like a nervous pitcher, the incident prompted a storm of criticism from MMA journalists including Kevin Iole and Ben Fowlkes, who felt it was a tremendous conflict of interest for a UFC executive to remove a judge when he doesn’t agree with the results — especially in locales without athletic commissions, where the UFC arranges virtually all of the officiating itself.

The UFC brass must have come to the same conclusion, because the following statement was just published on UFC.com:


(Poor Dana. He has his good days and his bad days. / Photo via MMA in Asia)

A strange and unprecedented thing happened during the UFC Fight Night 48: Bisping vs. Le prelims on Saturday. After the first two fights ended in split-decisions, UFC president Dana White grabbed veteran judge Howard Hughes and told him to get lost:

“He was involved in the first fight and the second fight,” White said. “I told the guys to go let him grab some beer and some popcorn and go sit down and start watching some fights, not judging them.”

To clarify, Hughes was only singled out because he worked both fights, not because his scorecards were significantly worse than anybody else’s. In the opening bout between Milana Dudieva and Elizabeth Phillips, Hughes was one of the two judges to score it for Dudieva — a result that White said he actually agreed with — and in the next bout between Royston Wee and Yao Zhikui, Hughes was one of the two judges to score it for Wee. White did not agree with that decision, and it sent the UFC prez into “a pretty bad meltdown.”

While it’s kind of refreshing to see a bad judge get pulled off the mound like a nervous pitcher, the incident prompted a storm of criticism from MMA journalists including Kevin Iole and Ben Fowlkes, who felt it was a tremendous conflict of interest for a UFC executive to remove a judge when he doesn’t agree with the results — especially in locales without athletic commissions, where the UFC arranges virtually all of the officiating itself.

The UFC brass must have come to the same conclusion, because the following statement was just published on UFC.com:

After an internal review, the UFC organization announced today that a breach of its independent regulatory protocol occurred on Saturday night during UFC FIGHT NIGHT MACAO.

After the second fight of the night, UFC President Dana White requested that Howard Hughes, one of the event’s five assigned judges, be removed from working any further bouts. Pursuant to UFC’s protocol, neither White nor any other UFC executive possesses such authority. Nevertheless, protocol was breached and Hughes did not work further bouts on Saturday night.

The UFC organization has always been in support of government regulation and oversight. Additionally, the UFC has established a protocol when required to self-regulate events due to the lack of an official athletic commission, federation or other regulatory body. In those instances where UFC holds events in locations without a regulatory body, the UFC’s protocol dictates that the organization’s internal regulators will handle all commission functions independently and without interference by company executives or employees.

The UFC remains committed to maintaining the strictest regulatory environment for competition and vows that no similar breach of protocol will happen again.

Both White and the UFC apologize to Mr. Hughes for calling his professional judgment into question. Hughes has judged more than 25 UFC fight cards and the UFC looks forward to him working on its events again in the future.

Kudos to the UFC for acknowledging the incident and apologizing for it. The UFC has suspended Dana White for six months, and he must pass a drug test before promoting another event. Okay, not really, but wouldn’t that be great?

Hot Potato: 19 Photos of Jennifer Nguyen, UFC Macau Ring Girl


(Photo via Jennifer’s ModelMayhem page. Full gallery is after the jump.)

Props to Bloody Elbow photographer Anton Tabuena for introducing us to Jennifer Nguyen, a Vancouver-based model, dancer, and actress of Vietnamese descent who was one of the guest ring girls at UFC Fight Night 48 in Macau this weekend. Jennifer has a long list of credits as a magazine and import model, and has been busy conquering Asia lately. You can read her life story here.

Check out 19 of our favorite Jennifer Nguyen photos in the gallery below, and visit her Facebook and Instagram pages for tons more.

Props to Bloody Elbow photographer Anton Tabuena for introducing us to Jennifer Nguyen, a Vancouver-based model, dancer, and actress of Vietnamese descent who was one of the guest ring girls at UFC Fight Night 48 in Macau this weekend. Jennifer has a long list of credits as a magazine and import model, and has been busy conquering Asia lately. You can read her life story here.

Check out 19 of our favorite Jennifer Nguyen photos in the gallery above, and visit her Facebook and Instagram pages for tons more.

You Need to See Cung Le’s Brutalized Face Right This Instant


(The before shot. / Photo via Getty)

Cung Le just fought Michael Bisping at UFC Fight Night 48 in Macau, though it looks like he just dived into the business end of a wood chipper face-first.

Le performed great for a 42-year-old, but ultimately succumbed to a knee and follow-up punches from Bisping (read a full re-cap here). The TKO wasn’t the most shocking part of the fight, however. No, that was Le’s mangled face–specifically his right eye.

You can use “hamburger meat” or whatever term you’d like. We prefer to think of it as the real-life version of Oberyn Martell’s face at the end of his duel with Ser Gregor Clegane. Take a look after the jump:


(The before shot. / Photo via Getty)

Cung Le just fought Michael Bisping at UFC Fight Night 48 in Macau, though it looks like he just dived into the business end of a wood chipper face-first.

Le performed great for a 42-year-old, but ultimately succumbed to a knee and follow-up punches from Bisping (read a full re-cap here). The TKO wasn’t the most shocking part of the fight, however. No, that was Le’s mangled face–specifically his right eye.

You can use “hamburger meat” or whatever term you’d like. We prefer to think of it as the real-life version of Oberyn Martell’s face at the end of his duel with Ser Gregor Clegane. Take a look:


(Photo via Twitter)

Is this the worst post-fight face we’ve ever seen? Maybe not the WORST but it’s certainly the worst in 2014 so far. Be sure to get lots of ice, Cung Le! We hope the scars won’t ruin your acting career.

By the way, other fights happened on the card too. Here are the results:

MAIN CARD

Michael Bisping def. Cung Le via TKO (punches and knee) at 0:57 of round 4
Tyron Woodley def. Dong Hyun Kim via TKO (punches) at 1:01 of round 1
Zhang Lipeng def. Brendan O’Reilly via unanimous dec. (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Ning Guangyou def. Jianping Yang via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3) and winner of TUF China.

PRELIMINARY CARD

Wang Sai def. Danny Mitchell via Unanimous Dec. (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Alberto Mina def. Shinsho Anzai via TKO (hammer fists) at 4:17 of round 1.
Yuta Sasaki def. Roland Delorme via submission (RNC) at 1:06 of round 1
Colby Covington def. Wang Anying via TKO (punches) at 4:50 of round 1.
Royston Wee def. Yao Zhikui via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
Milana Dudieva def. Elizabeth Phillips via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)

UFC Fight Night 48: Bisping vs. Le — Liveblogging the Fights We Care About


(I don’t know exactly what they were saying, but it seemed like they agreed on at least a dozen different points. / Props: MMAJunkie)

UFC Fight Night 48 is underway at the CotaiArena in Macau, featuring Michael Bisping vs. Cung Le in the main event, Tyron Woodley vs. Dong Hyun Kim in the co-headliner, and a bunch of non-wiki randoms making up the rest of the card. You don’t care about those guys and neither do we. Fortunately, our Fight Pass correspondent Barry “Bear” Siragusa is going to liveblog the top two fights starting around 10 a.m. ET, and plug in results for the rest. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and let us know how you feel in the comments or on twitter @cagepotatomma.


(I don’t know exactly what they were saying, but it seemed like they agreed on at least a dozen different points. / Props: MMAJunkie)

UFC Fight Night 48 is underway at the CotaiArena in Macau, featuring Michael Bisping vs. Cung Le in the main event, Tyron Woodley vs. Dong Hyun Kim in the co-headliner, and a bunch of non-wiki randoms making up the rest of the card. You don’t care about those guys and neither do we. Fortunately, our Fight Pass correspondent Barry “Bear” Siragusa is going to liveblog the top two fights starting around 10 a.m. ET, and plug in results for the rest. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and let us know how you feel in the comments or on twitter @cagepotatomma.

MAIN CARD RESULTS THAT WE DON’T REALLY CARE ABOUT
Zhang Lipeng vs. Brendan O’Reilly
Ning Guangyou vs. Jianping Yang

PRELIMINARY CARD RESULTS
Wang Sai def. Danny Mitchell via Unanimous Dec.  (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Alberto Mina def. Shinsho Anzai via TKO (hammer fists) at 4:17 of round 1.
Yuta Sasaki def. Roland Delorme via submission (RNC) at 1:06 of round 1
Colby Covington def. Wang Anying via TKO (punches) at 4:50 of round 1.
Royston Wee def. Yao Zhikui via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
Milana Dudieva def. Elizabeth Phillips via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)

P.S. Before you start filling my inbox with death threats. To be clear, it’s not a submission unless someone taps. Wang Anying did not tap to strikes. Give the dude some credit. It was a TKO.

Hi CP people. Bear the zombie here. I’ll be doing this live because I have a new born in the house and, lets face it, I wouldn’t be sleeping anyway. You lucky bastards will be sleeping and reading this later. Enjoy your coffee, close your robe for gods sake, and let’s do this.

Well, we have been party to some of the worst judging in the history of MMA. Pearson vs. Sanchez quality stuff.

First up (that we care about):

Tyron Woodley vs. Dong Hyun Kim

Tyron Woodley: (16-3 MMA) Is the current #3 ranked Welterweight in the world. He recently dropped a #1 contender fight to Rory MacDonald at UFC 174. Wanting to get back in the saddle quickly he replaced an injured Hector “Showeather” (yes, seriously) Lombard in Macao against Dong Hyun Kim. Sponsored by Dude Wipes… Just so that is said.

Dong Hyun Kim (19-2 MMA) Is currently the #9 ranked Welterweight in the world. On a four fight win streak. He has notable wins over Nate Diaz, Matt Brown, TJ Grant and Erick Silva.

Round 1: