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A predictable day for Keith Kizer & the NSAC with Alistair Overeem

By Zach Arnold | April 24, 2012

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Over the last few weeks, Dave Meltzer has reported on a number of scenarios that Alistair Overeem’s camp was allegedly going to pursue in order to stay out of hot water over his failed ‘random’ drug test in Nevada due to high T/E levels.

According to Dave, the first story was going to involve a plea for Testosterone Replacement Therapy. However, Overeem had given the NSAC blood test results instead of urine test results last November. When Bas Rutten alluded to Overeem getting clearance, I suspect this is what he was talking about. Plus, Overeem had passed previous urine tests from Nevada. So, according to Dave, this strategy fell apart.

The second story allegedly was going to involve a ‘Viagra defense’, citing a need for Viagra & testosterone due to impotence. However, as widely reported in media circles (such as the BBC), Viagra is not recommended for those with low testosterone levels.

Which leads us to yesterday’s explanation, where Overeem claimed that a doctor gave him an anti-inflammatory medication that was supposedly mixed with testosterone. You can make of this what you will.

The end result is that, today, Overeem was told that he could reapply for a license in Nevada… at the end of December.

Unbelievably, Overeem presented the doctor in question (Dr. Hector Oscar Molina) from Texas. I suppose that’s better than Nate Marquardt who never mentioned his testosterone-administering doctor’s name, but…

When the name of Dr. Molina surfaced, MMA message boards quickly went nuts and started digging dirt (no matter if it was true or false). Cage Potato promptly dropped the proverbial hammer on Dr. Molina.

Victor Conte was not impressed:

The strict liability rule defeats Overeem’s arguments. He is responsible no matter how it got into his body. “I didn’t know” is unacceptable. Why would Overeem’s attorney bring in a doctor with a history of illegal medical prescription problems to testify? Makes no sense. Does Overeem’s lawyer actually think MMA scribes are going to believe that Overeem voluntarily gave up the fight? Rather interesting that Overeem’s doctor injected him wth a water based testosterone, which clears the system faster than oil based.

Mike Chiappetta posted some interesting observations online about today’s hearing. The first point of order — how ‘random’ was the NSAC drug test?

Keith Kizer says Overeem initially sped out of building when faced with random test. UFC tracked him down short time later. Overeem’s lawyer says Reem was trying to avoid being served legal papers in public, and that’s why he bailed random test.

Second point of order — the medication.

Overeem’s lawyer: We will turn over the vial to you. It says “anti-inflammatory.” No indication on vial it contains prohibited substance. Overeem’s lawyer saying he is not questioning the test results, but then he said he does question some parts of procedure. Says it was an intentional ingestion of a mixture provided by doc “without knowledge of substance you would frown upon.” Overeem says he first took the injection which he believed was anti-inflammatory, on Jan. 1.

Overeem says he had no knowledge that he was gonna be tested. Says he doesn’t know why Kizer would say that he was informed before presser. Overeem asked on his feeling about the doc who gave him shot. “I’m not upset because no evil will was intended.” Overeem tells the NSAC that he injected a 2nd shot in his own shoulder. Overeem’s doc: Shot was insufficient to raise testosterone levels and give anabolic advantage. Doc says usually, patients know what is in their shot, but he and Reem “didn’t go into specifics.” Doc says he included test in shot to “promote faster healing” b/c Reem was not going to be able to take any time off.

NSAC called his presentation “superlative”! Seriously. Wow.

Our friend MMA Supremacy notes recent history:

Lorenzo gave Overeem a $1M signing bonus after Strikeforce firing… 1st installment was for Lesnar fight, 2nd & 3rd in next 2 fights.

How much money will UFC try to get out of Overeem now? Here’s a clue:

Once Overeem’s team changed reason about 3X’s, UFC pulled plug… no need to wait for today’s hearing. Can book AO in NYE card.

Pathetic work by Nevada, but entirely predictable given what else happened today. Brent Brookhouse:

The NSAC basically ended that by going “great job, great defense, you’re a champion, please come back and fight here.”

Jordan Breen:

Overeem denied license. He can reapply in nine months from the test, meaning he can’t fight before Dec. 27. Gee, what a convenient time.

A well-connected MMA player wrote me the following after today’s hearing:

What did this decision ultimately do? Not much. If the commission had wished to look strong they would have thought about the big picture. They treated Overeem like he was some misled angel. They would have discussed how tough it will to come back. Instead, they made it seem like they are welcoming him with open arms in December. They made little or no big deal about him skipping out on the test in the first place.

Given today’s circus, there was something poetic about Nevada clearing the way for Chael Sonnen to fight Anderson Silva in Las Vegas at UFC 148. Chael fights in Vegas for the Summer and Overeem fights in Vegas for NYE. Funny how that worked out.

Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 24 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

24 Responses to “A predictable day for Keith Kizer & the NSAC with Alistair Overeem”

  1. The Gaijin says:

    What a farce that was…as much of a douche as I think Chael is it’s pretty hard to justify him not getting papered now that this has happened.

    So much for being tough on cheaters…

    And honestly, just from a purely legal/defense perspective, if you’re a very highly paid athlete like Overeem and *that* is the best you can do in terms of a defense you are on another planet in terms of unintelligence. Like, wtf, pony up and get a top end legal team with a coherent defense and they would have had the NSAC apologizing to Overeem for having to take time out of his busy schedule to meet with them, the “champion fighter” that he is. Why on earth do these guys trot out bush league attorneys and nitwit quacks when they could pay some money to a competent lawyer and really make the AC look foolish. I’m going to write the CA/NV bar and start hocking my services to mma fighters that get popped – a good litigator could make fortune.

    • 45 Huddle says:

      I would say Alistair Overeem is extremely stupid. He was told by the NSAC that he would be randomly tested due to him skipping out of town for the Lesnar fight drug test.

      THEY TOLD HIM HE WOULD BE TESTED!! And what does he do? He does roids anyways and gets caught.

      Idiot….

    • nottheface says:

      This 100% Zuffa’s fault because they goaded him into dropping Golden Glory. But in all seriousness, does anyone think that if Bas Boon was still making 30% off Overeem he would have ever let him screw up his cycles?

      • dnm3k says:

        NOPE.

        GG takes care of everything, that’s why they’re worth their 30% extortion fee. And every damn dime of it.
        When you go to Dr.Nick and do it yourself with the guidance of a “One-Pec’d Man” this is what happens…. goddamn FrankenMurr get’s a shot at winning the belt and ruining another UFC event for me.

  2. 45 Huddle says:

    He won’t be fighting on the New Years show. He can’t re-apply until 2 days before that show, and the UFC isn’t going to advertise him without a license and book him with such a short turn around time. He will be booked for the Super Bowl Weekend show, which means it will be 13 months between fights.

    Which also explains the 9 month instead of 1 year suspension. If they did a full year, he would miss out on Super Bowl Weekend, which is always a Las Vegas show.

    From the perspective of how long he will be between fights, I have no problem with the suspension. With the perspective of why they gave him 9 months instead of 1 year due to Las Vegas wanting him on a bigger card…. Is pathetic.

  3. Jason Harris says:

    Bit odd that Overeem got 9 months instead of the typical year but it ends up that he’ll be out a year anyhow, just like anyone that failed a test.

    Why would Chael have any problem getting licensed? It’s not like a PED suspension black balls you from the sport forever. Not only was his suspension a while ago but he’s fought without failing AC tests 2x since then.

    I can’t help but laugh at Victor Conte’s comments. Saying “Why would Overeem’s attorney bring in a doctor with a history of illegal medical prescription problems to testify?” is ironic considering he expects to be treated like a trusted expert after serving prison time for distributing steroids. I don’t disagree with what he said but coming from him as a source it’s ridiculous.

    • The Gaijin says:

      “I can’t help but laugh at Victor Conte’s comments. Saying “Why would Overeem’s attorney bring in a doctor with a history of illegal medical prescription problems to testify?” is ironic considering he expects to be treated like a trusted expert after serving prison time for distributing steroids. I don’t disagree with what he said but coming from him as a source it’s ridiculous.”

      This statement is all kinds of retarded. These two examples are so far from being comparable it’s not even funny.

  4. fd2 says:

    You didn’t mention his alleged reason for running out of the building before the test – he claimed a couple things but I think the last one was that he was trying to avoid being served papers by Golden Glory in public. I heard that he did, in fact, get served papers, and somebody has them timestamped, so it would be interesting to get a hold of those and compare them to the timetable re: when he left and when he got back…

  5. Fluyid says:

    Good to see Tra Telligman back in the spotlight! He hasn’t gotten this much coverage since his borefest decision over Igor.

  6. Brendan says:

    Shout out to the Texas Commission, Tra, and Dr Molina FTW.

    One last strange thing from today. The first part of the Ubereem hearing talked about the 45-60 day extension, but the nice lady on the commission (I think it was her) said given everything and everyone there, an extension would only hurt Overeem himself, as it would delay his punishment 45-60 days longer than it would likely be. However, the 9 month wait was backdated to March anyway, so the 45-60 day delay would not have changed a thing. Just a strange note on a strange day.

  7. Zach Arnold says:

    http://sports.yahoo.com/news/mma–alistair-overeems-ped-suspension-reduced-by-nevada-commission-which-didn-t-take-a-stand.html

    A well-deserved tongue lashing. Who it’s from might surprise you, but you have to give credit where it’s due for sure.

    ****

    I just got off the phone with a well-respected doctor who has experience in dealing with fighters. When I read the listed drugs in the ‘tetra mix’ that Overeem was injecting himself with, this doctor was speechless and utterly horrified. The doctor said that, at most, you should only use two of the drugs at once. When I listed the various drugs, they were shocked that such a combination was given. The doctor was very concerned.

    • Chuck says:

      I can’t believe I am saying this, but good for Kevin Iole. he hit all the right notes in his op-ed. Is it me, or does it seem like in the past two years or so Iole has become less of a Zuffa butt-kisser? I read many of his op-eds, and he really doesn’t kiss their asses much. To be fair, this is the first one I read this year, so I could be wrong.

      • Jason Harris says:

        Iole calls Zuffa out plenty. There is this weird dynamic propagated by some sites that any other site not writing non stop troll pieces is somehow a massive kissass. Hello, I read here last week that the entire MMA media is subservient to UFC. I’m not sure which sites that is supposed to mean but the people accusing never offer specifics

        • nottheface says:

          When writers privately tell me they can’t do certain stories because their bosses don’t want to piss off the UFC or its fans, that tells me something. Is it as bad as some make it out? Probably not, but some sort of coerced censorship exists.

        • Steve4192 says:

          I think in Iole’s case he was extremely ignorant about the sport when he first got assigned to the MMA beat, and leaned on Zuffa management to fill in the gaps for him. As a result, he was basically a mouthpiece for them. As he has gained more knowledge and confidence in his understanding of the sport, he relied on them less and less and began to develop his own voice.

  8. BuddyRowe says:

    So the UFC just signed Hector Lombard. Another failed test just waiting to happen. If the UFC were worried about another guy getting caught and the bad publicity it brings, why would you sign this guy?

  9. dnm3k says:

    So what does this now do for the Nick Diaz hearing, and is there more to Keizer pushing that off until the summer hearings? When they will eventually, suspend him 9 months too… and at that time, he’ll already been out of the game for 7 months.

    NSAC has been a joke for years, icing ontop of icing. Please come back, tip your waitress and try the veal!

  10. […] Fight Opinion (Zach Arnold): A predictable day for Keith Kizer & the NSAC with Alistair Overeem […]

  11. […] the random testing session, which has a deja vu ring to it. His defense leading up to the hearing changes several times. He then showed up with a Dr Nick parody and a vial that looks about as medical as a crackpipe. […]

  12. […] How Much Money Might Alistair Overeem’s Suspension Cost Him? (FightOpinion.com) […]

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