Overeem Suspended For Nine-Months For Positive Testosterone Test

[No More Sorrow]

After a lengthy hearing infront of the NSAC today, Alistair Overeem was denied his license to fight and has been put on suspension for 9-months.

Not too many details out right now but I'm sure they'll be released shortly. Will update this thread as they come in, no surprise he's been suspended though.

 

[No More Sorrow]

LAS VEGAS – Alistair Overeem will be on the shelf until at least Dec. 27.

After a lengthy Tuesday hearing in front of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Overeem was denied a license to fight in Nevada and must now wait nine months before reapplying with the commission.

The ruling was a bit of a concession from the NSAC, which has the right to enforce a one-year waiting period in such circumstances.

Today's meeting took place at the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas.

Overeem's camp initially requested a continuance of 45-60 days in order to gather more expert testimony to support its client's case. However, following a brief deliberation with his fellow commissioners, chairman Raymond "Skip" Avansino elected to proceed with the hearing.

Overeem's attorney, David Chesnoff, asked the commission to consider granting his client a conditional license, basing his argument largely on the testimony of Dr. Hector Molina, who admitted to injecting Overeem with testosterone in January, as well as providing the fighter with additional doses to administer himself.

Overeem admitted to administering one of the doses of what Molina refereed to as "tetra mix" (a proprietary blend of anti-inflammatories, along with aqueous testosterone) on March 23 after consulting with the physician via phone. With nagging rib injuries bothering him during a press tour, Overeem said he phoned Molina and asked if it was safe to take another dose. Molina assured him that it was, according to Overeem.

Overeem then was tested on March 27 following a Las Vegas press conference designed to promote May's UFC 146 event, which was expected to feature Overeem vs. UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos. The test revealed Overeem had a 14-to-1 testosterone-to-epitestosterone (T/E) ratio, more than twice the 6-to-1 ratio allowed by the NSAC.

Some MMA pundits suggested Overeem's camp would question the commission's right to even administer the test in the first place despite the former Strikeforce champ agreeing to random tests as part of a conditional license granted for him to face Brock Lesnar this past December at UFC 141. However, Chesnoff instead focused on his client's lack of understanding of precisely what Molina was injecting.

In a strange twist, Overeem first met Molina in June 2011, when Strikeforce held an event in Dallas. The Texas-based doctor worked with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation – the state's athletic commission – to inspect fighters competing on the June 18 event. However, the two described the relationship as strictly "professional" at the time.

In March, UFC and PRIDE veteran Tra Telligman, a Dallas resident, recommended Overeem visit Dr. Molina to address the lingering injuries, at which point Molina recommended and administered the "tetra mix," according to Overeem's team.

It was Molina who spent the most time in front of the commission, detailing precisely what happened during his examination of Overeem, as well as outlining exactly what was administered and why.

The commissioners appeared to offer some sympathy toward Overeem's plight but ultimately ruled that the fighter is indeed responsible for any and all chemicals consumed in any manner. However, commissioner Bill Brady noted that Overeem's exclusion from May's UFC 146 event has already cost him a large opportunity and full paycheck. Had Overeem failed a post-fight drug test, he would have likely been fined any win bonus and 30 percent of his show money, which would have left him with 70 percent of his paycheck. As such, the commission voted 4-0 to allow Overeem to wait just nine months rather than the customary 12 months before reapplying for a license.

The suspension start-date was backdated to the failed March 27 drug test, meaning Overeem is free to apply again on Dec. 27. While it would be a tight window, commissioner Francisco Aguilar suggested Overeem would be eligible for the UFC's customary year-end event, which is expected to take place Dec. 29 in Las Vegas.

In the meantime, the commission made it clear it doesn't want to see Overeem applying for a license or competing under the jurisdiction of another commission.​

Here's a few more details on how the whole thing went down. ​

 

[No More Sorrow]

Here's some info that came out today about Overeems Doctor, kind of crazy.

And the plot thickens...

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight Alistair Overeem, who appeared in front of the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) today (April 24, 2012), has attributed the results of his failed drug test back on March 27 to anti-inflammatory medication he received out of competition to help with his recovery from a rib injury.

The action was initiated when a complaint was filed with the medical board by a Colorado man who received drugs prescribed by Molina from the unregulated Internet pharmacy, prescriptionconsultation.com - prescription. It is no longer operating under that name.


According to the complaint, which is posted on the state medical board Web site, the patient obtained hydrocodone and other medications in increasingly stronger dosages. The original orders and refills were authorized by Molina.


The complaint says that the patient was also being treated by his own physicians at the time and became addicted to the medications.


According to the state medical board, Molina, who was licensed in Texas in August 1997, violated the proper physician-patient relationship because he prescribed the drugs without having examined the patient, taken a proper history, acquired adequate medical records and performed adequate tests.



That medication, which included self-injections containing testosterone, was prescribed by performance-enhancement doctor Hector Oscar Molina, who was referred to "The Reem" by former UFC fighter Tra Telligman.


The same Dr. Hector Oscar Molina that was fined $25,000 and slapped with restrictions on his practice for three years for "prescribing controlled substances and dangerous drugs over the Internet without establishing a proper physician-patient relationship."


The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has the gory details, after the jump.

 

[Troy]

Seems like the commission were quite lenient on him and actually believed that he had mistakingly taken the testosterone. Overeem is pretty lucky that he only has the nine month suspension. What are the odds that UFC will book him on the New Years Eve card.

 

[No More Sorrow]

I could see the UFC doing something like that, if he doesn't get cut. I don't think he will but EVERYBODY is going to look at him like a cheater, way more than they already did and it's something he'll have to deal with the rest of his MMA career.

 

[Troy]

He probably doesn't care that much though as long as he is making his money from UFC. As long as he can convince UFC he is clean I will believe that he is clean.

 

[No More Sorrow]

An interesting detail from Bloody Elbow’s play-by-play of Alistair Overeem’s NSAC hearing:

Overeem tried to flee the building at time of random test, jumped into a car and sped off despite being told that he had to stay to give a sample. Claims he “didn’t realize” he needed to stick around and was going to an interview, then changed that he was going to talk about his battery case, then changed that he was going to try to avoid Golden Glory serving him papers. UFC says they made it entirely clear that he needed to stick around.

Pathetic, now that this part of the story is known it makes him look like such a bigger asshole.

 

[No More Sorrow]

Here's what Dana White has to say about Overeem's Suspension

I wasn't very optimistic about his chances (of getting licensed). I didn't think that things were gonna turn out very well for him. As expected. Nine months? Nine months isn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be. I thought he'd get a year. Easily a year. Here's the rules: if that's the case, if he was on anti-inflammatory meds or whatever the deal was, you're supposed to disclose that to the commission before you get any drug tests. …Whatever medicine you're on, you're supposed to tell them before you test, not after you test. I'm not a fan. I'm not a fan at all. You're not gonna hear me today on your radio show defending Alistair Overeem, believe me. I don't know (if we'll cut him or not), we'll see what happens. We'll see what happens, man.


As if tanking a highly-anticipated main event fight and bringing much negative press to the UFC weren't enough, White thinks Overeem added insult to injury by lying to him about being a clean fighter.


Before he went in there, he sat down in a lunch with me and my partners, looked us in the face and said, 'I'm the most tested athlete in all of sports. They can test me whenever they want to.' He flew in for the press conference, they tested him and now he's on a nine-month suspension. He claims that he was on anti-inflammatories, which he should have told them before he tested. I know he lied to me.
I don't like it. You know, you sit down and you have these guys that you do business with and you say, 'Listen, be honest with me. What's going on here? Let's figure out how we can work together and how we can do business together.' And if they'll sit in front of you and lie to your face? I don't know, not the kind of guys I want to do business with.

 

[Slim]

Overeem might get cut.

But mannn that is rather messed up how he tried to dip out like that. he knew he was gonna piss hot but ... yeah just cut him. he is talented and everything but... you can't trust the guy to piss clean.

 

[No More Sorrow]

I'm pretty sure he'll get cut honestly, at least cut him for the time being.