If Alistair Overeem receives another opportunity to challenge for the UFC heavyweight title and the belt remains around the waist of Junior dos Santos, the title shot will come with a request.
"I would like him to do a test -- a blood test," dos Santos said of the 32-year-old Dutchman. "I think we both need to do that. I want a clean fight and he needs to prove he is not under any kind of substances."
Speaking with ESPN Brasil this week, dos Santos reiterated his disdain for performance-enhancing drugs and athletes who use them. He was expressly critical of Overeem, who was scheduled to fight the 27-year-old Brazilian on May 26 but was forced out of the bout after testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone following an unannounced test by the Nevada State Athletic Commission on March 27.
Overeem defended the positive result and his status as a "clean fighter" by claiming he unknowingly treated a rib injury by injecting anti-inflammatory medication mixed with testosterone under a doctor's care. That wasn't good enough for the commission (which suspended Overeem nine months) or, it seems, dos Santos.
"Using drugs is completely unnecessary, and I am the living proof," he said. "I’m the champion, and I never used any kind of forbidden substances. Fighting a guy that uses these kinds of drugs is completely unfair and useless. With or without any kind of authorization [for using testosterone], the fighter who uses those substances is never fighting with his own skills. He is enhancing his power with those drugs."
Dos Santos said he'd willingly subject himself to random drug screens, suggesting ongoing and widespread blood testing as the "best way to deal with this situation." Those comments align dos Santos with a growing movement in combat sports embracing increasingly stringent testing. Recently, Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren signed up for a testing program administered by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, as have several high-profile boxers.
“When you have a fight with two 'clean' fighters, you will know after the fight who is the real champion," he said. "A guy who uses doping is a fake fighter."
Dos Santos (15-1) is scheduled to fight the man from whom he took the belt on Sept. 22 at UFC 152 in Toronto. If he bests Cain Velasquez, the heavy-hitting champion would prefer not to defend against a fresh off suspension Overeem.
"I think he doesn’t deserve a title shot right now. ... Overeem needs to have another fight before having a title shot."
