UFC heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem no longer has plausible deniability when it comes to allegations that Overeem has used anabolic steroids to build his massively-muscled physique. For the first time, the number one UFC heavyweight contender has tested positive for anabolic steroids. Many people believed that steroids were the most likely explanation for his dramatic transformation from a 185 pound 17-year old to a 260 pound heavyweight mixed martial artist. The failed steroid test provides further substantiation that Overeem is a steroid user.
Overeem was scheduled to appear on the main card at “UFC 146: Dos Santos vs. Overeem” in Las Vegas on May 26, 2012. It is unlikely that Overeem will be able to fight at UFC 146 at this point.
Overeem failed the testosterone: epitestosterone (T:E) ratio anti-doping screen following the pre-fight UFC146 press conference. The T:E ratio screen is a putative indicator of exogenous testosterone use. Overeem’s T:E was reportedly 14:1 and exceeded the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s (NSAC) cutoff of 6 to 1. Ninety-nine percent of all individuals have T:E ratios less than 6 to 1. Ninety-five percent have ratios less than 4 to 1. And the majority of individuals have ratios approximating 1 to 1.
NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer only reported the results of Sample A. Most anti-doping agencies, like the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), do not publicly disclose a positive A sample unless it is confirmed by a positive B sample. WADA has recently started using carbon isotope ratio (CIR) testing to confirm that elevated testosterone levels are the result of using testosterone derived from plant origin. Pharmaceutical preparations of testosterone almost exclusively use plant sources as the raw material in their synthesis of testosterone and other anabolic steroids. CIR is not utilized by NSAC.
Overeem still has a small chance of remaining on the ticket at UFC 146. If the B sample turns out to be negative, he would remain eligible to be licensed by the NSAC to fight in Las Vegas.
UFC 146 was intended to feature the six top-billed heavyweight MMA fighters: Alistair Overeem, Dos Santos, Frank Mir, Cain Velasquez, Roy Nelson and Antonio Silva. The event was certain to be a very lucrative pay-per-view event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Suspicions of steroid use by Overeem were already strong due to the appearance of his physique. He made matters worse last fall when he missed several scheduled drug tests before his fight with Brock Lesnar at UFC 141. But a positive steroid test provides the evidence that many people wanted to label Overeem as a steroid user.
Source:
Marrocco, S. (April 4, 2012). Alistair Overeem fails pre-fight drug test, likely out of UFC 146 title fight. Retrieved from http://mmajunkie.com/news/28109/alistair-overeem-fails-pre-fight-drug-test-likely-out-of-ufc-146-title-fight.mma
