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Belfort out of Weidman title fight, Machida in; The written/unwritten truths about the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s testosterone reversal

By Zach Arnold | February 27, 2014

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The Nevada State Athletic Commission had a meeting today in Las Vegas where they announced a ban on all testosterone permission slips for fighters in combat sports. It was a unanimous vote. Not a coincidence. The UFC is already putting on a dog-and-pony show celebrating this triumph.

That’s Sig Rogich-style public relations malarkey. The UFC celebrating the “end” of anabolic steroid permission slips in Nevada is the equivalent of Big Tobacco celebrating an orchestrated anti-smoking campaign for kids in schools while making tens of millions of dollars profiting from the promotion of individuals who used or got addicted to their drug in the first place. Think the UFC is going to apologize for Chael Sonnen, Frank Mir, Ben Rothwell, Dan Henderson, and many other fighters who have headlined Fox events or PPVs where the UFC banked big coin? Hell no.

And today, rather than admit that they made a mistake in the first place in giving out testosterone permission slips to fighters for anabolic steroid usage, Nevada’s commission said they wanted to end the permission slips because it was too much work administratively.

The truth about Nevada’s commission is what I’ve stated all along: Sig Rogich, Lorenzo Fertitta, and the politicians indebted to these individuals are the ones collaborating in this public relations campaign to look like they are cracking down on anabolic steroid usage in combat sports when in fact they were the enablers in the first place. Look at the facts. It wasn’t until UFC started promoting anabolic steroid users in main event fights that we had this plague of fighters crying hypogonadism and needing permission slips. It wasn’t Bob Arum. It wasn’t Golden Boy. It wasn’t Lou DiBella. This plague falls squarely on the shoulders of the UFC. They fostered the environment that let the plague spread and now they want you to think that they are altruistic in trying to stamp in out, that somehow this was never their fault and it was the fault of politicians (who they happen to exert great influence over).

And now the UFC is telling the same athletic commissions they influenced in the past on testosterone usage to no longer allow testosterone use in combat sports.

I’m sure Dr. VanBuren Ross Lemons, who has tried to push his own testosterone policy, will be thrilled by this. I’m sure Martha Shen-Urquidez, the lawyer who is a fixer for Andy Foster on the California State Athletic Commission who questioned the credibility of the Association of Ringside Physicians’ statement about getting rid of testosterone permission slips, will be thrilled as well.

Why did Nevada’s commission flip flop? What happened to Keith Kizer is the same thing that happened to George Dodd in California. They were made the fall guys for the behavior of crooks in both Sacramento and Las Vegas. Kizer was simply parroting what those above him wanted to be said about testosterone usage not being some sort of “scarlet letter.” Consumer Affairs was screwing up big time with California’s commission and they dumped all the blame on Dodd. Then they got Andy Foster in the seat and all of a sudden DCA decided that they were going to (publicly) claim to be walking the straight-and-narrow. Kizer gets dumped in Nevada and now all the political factions, in unanimous fashion, decide to “do the right thing” while Kizer is out of power. Don’t confuse this paragraph as a defense of Kizer but rather as a condemnation of the gutlessness on display in Vegas.

Why the change now in testosterone policy?

I have covered the testosterone issue on this site for the past three years. I argued… and argued… and argued until I was blue in the face that the issue was a giant loser for the UFC politically & legally. Even as recently as yesterday, I got into some spats with UFC fans who were basically saying the issue wasn’t a real dilemma and that it is overblown.

I even wrote about the pro-steroid marriage between Fox and UFC. Trust me, that article got proper insider attention and worried some powerful people.

But for all the digital ink I’ve spilled on the testosterone topic, the reality is that all I could do was be an influencer. The majority of people who read this site are in the press or politics. We have healthy numbers but we’re not a powerhouse. Our importance is being an ideas clearinghouse for other media outlets to pick up the ball and roll with what we discuss.

It took a while but we got the right kind of attention in recent months and the tide soon turned. The tide really started turning last November when Vitor Belfort beat Dan Henderson in Brazil and was crowned as #1 contender for the UFC Middleweight title. That is when I started hearing from various media players in back-channels that, “damn, this really is going to be a big deal and we better start sending our investigative writers on it.” That kind of talk.

Then came the statement from the Association of Ringside Physicians coming out against testosterone permission slips in combat sports. That spooked a lot of powerful people. Included on that letter were the names of Dr. Paul Wallace and Dr. Eddie Ayoub, the top two Southern California doctors being used by the California State Athletic Commission. This pissed off some individuals in Sacramento who were not happy and, subsequently, we have doctors feuding with each other in California right now over anabolic steroids and doctor shortages at events.

Before that ARP statement, I was given a heads up that several big general sports outlets were going to start running real hard against the UFC and Belfort over anabolic steroids. Eventually, ESPN (through Outside the Lines) ran an item from top steroids writer Mike Fish in which Francisco Aguilar, Andre Agassi’s lawyer and top fixer for Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, stated that the money that a Belfort/Weidman fight in Nevada could generate would be taken into consideration as to whether or not Belfort would get a permission slip to use testosterone. That comment was definitely not from the Sig Rogich school of public relations and backfired in a bad way, even if it was a trial balloon.

Dr. Tim Trainor, who was used as the doctor conduit on NSAC for Keith Kizer in regards to the testosterone permission slips, came out of the shadows after Keith Kizer’s resignation and basically called out the testosterone garbage for what it is.

Then came this ESPN OTL piece from Mike Fish and Josh Gross about the mark doctors involved in the testosterone scam. Josh Gross is a dirty word in Zuffa HQ. If UFC is the vampire, Josh Gross is their cross & garlic. After this ESPN article was published, it was no secret that other major media outlets were going to hammer UFC hard in May when the Belfort/Weidman fight is set to take place. It was going to be the wrong kind of attention for UFC and Fox was not going to be able to protect them in a unscripted scenario.

The public line is that the ESPN story had no impact on NSAC reversing course. And the Brooklyn Bridge is for sale, too. Mike Fish and Josh Gross were interviewing many people and digging around. The mere threat of big media outlets like ESPN investigating the issue had an impact. The fact that it involved Mike Fish, a heavy hitter, had even more impact.

The amazing thing throughout the whole testosterone scandal for UFC is that they never fully developed a coherent defense on the matter. You always got a different answer every day from the company. They understood that the testosterone scam was a serious issue but didn’t consider it as a serious enough problem to actually put some considerate thought into coming up with a legal or public relations defense, which is shocking given how close PR spin-meister Sig Rogich is to Lorenzo Fertitta.

The reason the UFC couldn’t develop a coherent defense of the testosterone bullshit is because there is no defense. There never was a defense. So, rather than try to make an actual attempt (half-assed or not), Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta continued to flounder. And that opened the door for more interest in media outlets investigating the topic. Booking Vitor Belfort in a title match was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

The issues unresolved or unanswered issues still at stake

This is the Chael Sonnen argument from years ago, that the testosterone use will now be somehow driven underground because fighters won’t come out of the shadows and admit testosterone usage. The problem with that argument is that so many guys are already using testosterone that it only made the shamelessness of fighters crying hypogonadism even more absurd.

Kevin Iole: Thursday’s ban stamps Nevada as the leader in the fight against the use of performance enhancing drugs

There already has been a testosterone problem in combat sports. Giving amnesty to fighters, which is what the testosterone permission slips amounted to, only glorified testosterone usage and made a joke of doping in combat sports. Instead of suffering shame for getting permission to use testosterone, it became a badge of honor.

A final thought

There’s the actual war on doping and then there’s the public relations battle, which is Sig Rogich’s turf. Rogich and company are hoping that the heat will go away from UFC on the testosterone/doping matter. They want writers to take the foot off the gas pedal. Today’s events give many writers inclined to be soft on UFC the avenue to no longer push on this issue.

Which is why I give special thanks to Gabriel Montoya, Dr. Margaret Goodman, Josh Gross, and Mike Fish for their efforts. They displayed a backbone. It’s amazing how many people who make a living in combat sports are such cowards.

Mike Tyson is right. Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. That’s what happened with Rogich, Lorenzo, Ratner, and the NSAC. They profited handsomely from fighters using testosterone to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. Then the heat started picking up and they panicked. They had no answers. Then they got shameless and promoted Vitor Belfort to a title match. Then the situation became untenable.

This situation is merely the beginning and not the end. Since the UFC and other promoters/TV executives read this site and copy articles for roundtable discussions, here’s a personal message from me to Sig Rogich & mark doctor Jeff Davidson: I’m just getting started. You’ve done the bidding for individuals who have poisoned the well on the anabolic steroid issue in combat sports and you’re not going to get away with it no matter how many fancy press conferences you do with Harry Reid, John McCain, or the other politicians you control. I’m not going away and neither are the investigative writers digging into your affairs, especially Davidson. Davidson’s name escaped public mention today on the NSAC testosterone reversal and it shouldn’t have. This guy has been a player all along in dealing with various athletic commissions. If he wants to be a player, then he deserves public scrutiny for being a player. I have no sympathy for anyone who was involved as a fixer for fighters legally using anabolic steroids.

One of the lessons I learned from the collapse of PRIDE and the dummies behind it (Sakakibara, Shinoda, yakuza boss Ishizaka) is that they don’t like to be repeatedly confronted. The same lesson applies to the UFC, NSAC, and their political/medical fixers. It’s a lesson all combat sports writers should take to heart (but won’t).

Topics: Boxing, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 48 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

48 Responses to “Belfort out of Weidman title fight, Machida in; The written/unwritten truths about the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s testosterone reversal”

  1. 45 Huddle says:

    Snowden is right. This is one step, but blood tests and random testing has to be implemented. And testing for HGH.

    Until that happens across the board, there is still a lot to be done…

    Today was certainly a big step in the right direction.

  2. Chuck says:

    Here’s another step in the right direction;
    http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/UFC-Adopts-Nevadas-TRT-Ban-for-Overseas-Events-64385

    The UFC will ban TRT use for overseas events. Damn right they better!

    Is it too early to do retirement tribute pieces for Dan Henderson and Vitor Belfort?

  3. mizark says:

    Let me ask you something Zach. When you, Josh gross, and all the rest of the activist journos get what you want, when you bring down the UFC, bring down Lorenzo, bring down Dana White then what?

    • Chuck says:

      Who wants to bring down the UFC? They (and many others) have shitty policies that need to be addressed, that’s all. You could be a fan and be critical too. It’s never good to be a blind and naive fanboy/girl. It shows you care if you are critical in a rational fashion.

      On the flip side; bitching for the sake of bitching is not good, and Zach isn’t guilty of that. There were a few that were guilty of that to some extent (Loretta Hunt, maybe Eddie Goldman, maybe Snowden, etc). But those I mentioned have made their good points too (Loretta Hunt with her going after the UFC for allegedly doing backdoor deals with fighters without their agents to name an example that many people have went after her for, and Dana White did a curse word-ridden dis video on).

    • Dick Tracy says:

      Zach Arnold the witch hunter? That’s what I was thinking. Hey Zach, why do you hate TRT this much? An active theme on your site for sure.

    • Muscle Hamster says:

      The problem isn’t with the UFC or Lorenzo or Dana personally.

      The problem in this case is their demonstrated lack of leadership and duplicity when it comes to doping issues. To be fair, they do snag and slap the wrists of fighters every now and then.

      But the general behaviour of UFC has been to condone and reward its rule-breakers/TRT users at the expense of its rule-abiding fighters.

      I saw a list of TRT-approved fighters the other day. It would be interesting to see what % of TRT users fought on the main card/co-main event/main event.

    • Jason says:

      He’ll move on to some other issue he doesn’t like and start whinning about that. It’s what liberals do.

      • Chuck says:

        I thought it was always apparent that Zach Arnold is a Republican. Not overly conservative, but definitely no liberal. Not defending him (I’m a staunch liberal/Democrat), just saying. Conservatives bitch and moan just as much as liberals, so be fair man!

        The one group that probably does the most bitching? Probably libertarians. I kid, I kid!

  4. Nepal says:

    Interesting to see that the UFC will honor this overseas.

    Will be very interesting to see what happens to Vitor when he fights Weidman in Vegas. They still need to test for EPO and HGH. You know Belfort will continue cheating.

  5. Chris says:

    Great job Zach.

  6. DJ ThunderElbows says:

    I hope there is more to come in this protection of clean fighters and the sports future. Please don’t stop speaking out on this Zach. Thanks for covering the sport and ignoring the marks.

  7. Daniel says:

    Zach are you for real? Are you trying to say your style of journalism helped bring down pride? Pride was fucking awesome.
    Now your style of journalism is helping bring down ufc?
    If so SHUT THE FUCK UP. Just keep giving us the headlines from every other mma site and go to bed.
    If I get stuck watching bellator I will hunt you down and cut your fingers off in the most comfortable and harmless way.

    • Zach Arnold says:

      Zach are you for real? Are you trying to say your style of journalism helped bring down pride? Pride was fucking awesome.

      “Your style of journalism”? What? You mean telling the truth on occasion? That’s nothing new.

      Where did I say that I brought down PRIDE? I stated the opinion that when PRIDE dummies got pressured by scandal, they folded like an accordion. And they did.

      Now your style of journalism is helping bring down ufc?

      Someone writing about PRIDE didn’t bring down that organization. The fact they were a dummy organization is what brought down PRIDE. The same with the UFC and anabolic steroids. Writers didn’t tell them to book testosterone users on prolific PPV spots and make millions of dollars. They did that on their own and now have backed off because they had no answer for the wrong decision(s) they made.

      • Daniel says:

        Is that the same dummy company who put on the greatest cards history however short it may be? I wish I could be as stupid as them…
        I love mma and I accepted the fact yakuza was behind the scene and in hindsight so did the fighters. The UFC has their faults but at the end of the day they are putting on fights people want to see (occasionally)
        The whole hormones thing is just so blown out of proportion it’s crazy.
        I remember growing up hearing news reporters with no real knowledge speak about so called drug cheats with so much conviction it made me sick. The way you have reported the matter just reminds me of them.
        I come from sporting heritage and pro sports have paid my family’s bills my whole life. Steroids were a part of mum and dad’s life and they never seemed out place or taboo because EVERYONE was using them.
        Soon some realistic thought will be prevail. It may be a generation or two away but it will come. As long as we are humans it will be nothing more than an natural progression. We can’t help it. It is and we are evolution.
        You keep getting asked why you hate steroids so much but I’m yet to see you reply.
        So may I ask……….

        • Zach Arnold says:

          Is that the same dummy company who put on the greatest cards history however short it may be? I wish I could be as stupid as them…

          “Dummy company” is specific terminology — use a search engine for further elaboration. It’s figurative speech/slang.

        • Daniel says:

          WHY DO YOU HATE PED SO MUCH?

        • Zheroen says:

          I think it may be safe to assume that your parents’ intake of steroids could be a contributing factor towards your fundamental lack of cognitive thought process on display in this thread.

        • klown says:

          Daniel, steroids are nbd because your parents did them? Great argument!

  8. David m says:

    Zach: congratulations. You have been a tireless advocate on this issue for as long as I can remember, and eventually mainstream media caught up. You should be proud of yourself. Well done.

  9. 45 Huddle says:

    Vitor out against Weidman…. Wow. People were joking that Belfort would bow out, but I didn’t think he would make it this obvious that he only was willing to compete while on drugs. How sad, and a complete killer to the Belfort legacy.

    Weidman vs. Machida is still a great main event.

    • 45 Huddle says:

      And think about this…. Belfort had almost 3 months to change things up. There was easily enough time. For him to do a duck job like this says a lot about how he feels he can compete at 40 without drugs in his system.

    • Jonathan says:

      45 Huddle,

      I like this main event better, and I agree, this kills whatever legacy Vitor Belfort had left.

      I do not know if I have ever seen anything so blatant as Vitor on TRT, and then Vitor removing himself from a TITLE FIGHT when he finds out that TRT slips are not allowed anymore.

      It is so blatantly obvious a kid could figure it out.

      Also, I wonder what this means for Allistair Overeem?

  10. Diaz's cashed bowl says:

    Boy, Vitor is pretty stupid… just because his medical permission slip is now invalid doesn’t mean he can’t use trt. He’s been hanging out with Jesus too much I guess.

    Testing for PEDs is still the same, Vitrt and any one else can use as long as he’s under the 6-1 limit come test time.

    Smells funny… Vitor is the whipping boy in this bit of self serving ban.

    It is funny… the ufc got too greedy with this fight.
    If they just capitalized on Vitors popularity and the ease on trt in Brazil the fight would still be on.
    But, because this was(most likely) the biggest fight of the year and they wanted to maximize profit by running the show in their home town, the fights off.

    • 45 Huddle says:

      No it wouldn’t be. The UFC always does what the NSAC does. Which is why as soon as the NSAC banned TRT, so did the UFC.

      Whether the fight was in Brazil or the UFC, there would be no TRT.

  11. […] there are some, like Zach Arnold of Fight Opinion, who say that the TRT ban is less about moving toward “cleaning up the sport,” and more […]

  12. Alan Conceicao says:

    This is the Chael Sonnen argument from years ago, that the testosterone use will now be somehow driven underground because fighters won’t come out of the shadows and admit testosterone usage. The problem with that argument is that so many guys are already using testosterone that it only made the shamelessness of fighters crying hypogonadism even more absurd.

    There already has been a testosterone problem in combat sports. Giving amnesty to fighters, which is what the testosterone permission slips amounted to, only glorified testosterone usage and made a joke of doping in combat sports. Instead of suffering shame for getting permission to use testosterone, it became a badge of honor.

    Yup. The doctors aren’t necessarily ensuring fighters aren’t using other performance enhancing drugs or “abusing” TRT by doing their own personal out of competition testing. All they’re doing is being sure that the T/E levels are at or below 6/1 when it gets to be fight week. You’d think the existence of multiple facilities who’s existence it was to provide PEDs would have been enough for people to grasp this, but somehow, it isn’t!

  13. 45 Huddle says:

    Now Belfort is claiming that the UFC is the one who changed the fight, and not him.

    Some people are speculating that Belfort failed his random test a month ago and this is a way to save face without leaking the failed test.

    Which journalist is going to ask the NSAC and White for some answers?

  14. 45 Huddle says:

    Based on what I have been reading these last few hours, I think everything has become super clear on what has happened.

    1) Vitor Belfort pissed hot from the NSAC random testing a month ago.

    2) Because Belfort is not licensed, nobody can legally come out and say he pissed hot except Belfort, who is staying quiet right now. If he pissed clean, he would come out and say it.

    3) TRT was then banned in NSAC, and the UFC banned it as well.

    4) The UFC uses this as an excuse to remove Vitor Belfort from the Middleweight Title Fight.

    5) Vitor Belfort then comes out and says that it was the UFC removing him from the card and not him ducking the fight. He can save face this way with his fans.

    6) It also shows a HUGE COVER-UP by White & Fertitta. The NSAC does not have the jurisdiction to suspend Belfort because he was not licensed. The UFC does have that power. Since Belfort pissed hot, he should be suspended by the UFC for a minimum of one year (as he would be a two time offender).

    6) Instead, the UFC is going to stay quiet and give Belfort the next title fight once all of the media attention clears up.

    This is DIRTY DIRTY DIRTY Sh!t going on right now. This is corruption at the highest level.

    • edub says:

      All points could be completely accurate. Do you think its for something different, or just for high levels of T?

      • 45 Huddle says:

        One could say that the UFC is really concerned about Belfort getting off TRT properly.

        But that doesn’t pass the validity test. They have allowed fighters compete on TRT overseas for a few years. If they were really concerned for the fighters health, they would have done something about it a while ago.

        This all stinks of something really nasty. And the UFC using their connections in the NSAC to get rid of TRT while protecting a future title fight that would make them millions.

        Belfort’s own lawyer refused to answer whether he passed or failed the test. If he passed it, of course they would say he passed it.

        He failed a test and needs to be suspended for at least a year. And the journalists need to put pressure on the UFC until this happens.

        • 45 Huddle says:

          And it is fishy that they didn’t even ask him if he could be clear of everything before the license started. So there was obviously another reason.

          And the UFC has said it bans TRT as well. But they are letting Henderson compete in Brazil on it. They could have easily said they are enforcing it and told cut him from the card too.

          Too many things add up to Belfort pissing hot. Michael Bisping is being very vocal about it on Twitter. He said what I said. That if you pissed clean, you would tell people you did.

          Belfort should not be able to compete until at least February 2015 if he pissed hot. But you sure know the UFC wants Weidman/Belfort on their new years show.

        • duck says:

          How can you fail a drug test 4 months out from a fight? he hasn’t even started the normal 12 week fight camp and there was no signed bout agreement.

          So are steroids completely banned, many athletes get certain steroids to rehab an injury, I always just assumed you couldn’t take it in the run up to a fight.

        • duck says:

          From my understanding, once you take TRT and then stop taking it, your body stops producing testosterone and it can take many months to get back to a somewhat normal level, if it ever gets back to normal.

  15. Dave says:

    Seriously, Zach, while I’m not quite sure that the CSAC stuff is gonna turn up the same way, you really did a great job with the TRT stuff on here.

    Bravo.

  16. klown says:

    Amazing. It will be fascinating to watch this play out.

  17. Chuck says:

    So the Brazilian commission has banned TRT as well. Well, they WILL ban it after the Henderson/Shogun fight anyway. Henderson better take full advantage of his (and everyone else’) last TRT fight ever.

  18. Zach Arnold says:

    Chuck says:

    I thought it was always apparent that Zach Arnold is a Republican. Not overly conservative, but definitely no liberal. Not defending him (I’m a staunch liberal/Democrat), just saying. Conservatives bitch and moan just as much as liberals, so be fair man!

    The one group that probably does the most bitching? Probably libertarians. I kid, I kid!

    I’m not a guy who enjoys mixing politics with sports. The problem is that the deeper I got into combat sports, the more politics I encountered and it made it impossible to avoid. This is not by my choosing.

    One thing is clear from my end: I’ll go after anybody of any political stripe. California is a one-party state. NSAC and the fixers are establishment Republicans. You have to be willing to call a spade a spade.

    • Chuck says:

      Oh, I know you don’t mention your political beliefs these days. I was touching on your Puroresu Power days, when you would mention here and there about voting Republican. You always (way back then, I must stress) made it clear that you were a Republican. Again, not bashing nor defending, just stating how it was. Because that one guy called you a liberal, and I told him he was very wrong on that front.

      On Nevada….Yeah the governor is a staunch Republican, but Nevada goes Democratic in Presidential elections. Very purple state these days, and I think Nevada is going to be quite blue in a few years time. Could change the fight industry there, eh?

      • Zach Arnold says:

        Of all the states where the political lines are by far the most blurred, Nevada is it. Everyone’s interests seem to intersect with each other, which is why you got this very strange bedfellow mix of Rogich, Reid, Lorenzo, and then throw in Ross Miller who will likely win the AG seat in 2014 as a D.

        There doesn’t seem to be much difference at all really in Nevada state between the two parties as far as establishment goes. Which is why the casinos have been lucky that the Culinary Union and other groups haven’t gained more traction because in a traditional purple or blue state, the Union would be winning more of the battles.

    • Dave says:

      Zach, I think because you are more politically-inclined in this area it just naturally becomes a focal point for you. The reason why you don’t see many people pursuing similar stories is because I can’t think of anyone with a background or even interest in politics within MMA outside of Luke Thomas and maybe Kid Nate.

  19. king famous says:

    The next step is random drug testing.

  20. Manapua says:

    Zach should investigate and expose how the UFC helped Belfort fight several times in Brazil while knowing he was on PED’s the entire time. The UFC endangered several of their own fighters in the process.

  21. BrownSmasher says:

    I’m not sure why anyone on here can complain about Zach Arnold going after anyone. Whining about him hurting the UFC. Come on, that’s ridiculous.

    If there is anyone to ‘blame’, blame the UFC for promoting fake athletes like Vitor Belfort, Dan Henderson, Frank Mir and countless other, going all the way back to Randy, the not really ‘Natural’ Randy Couture. This crap has to end, pushing these fake athletes up on a pedestal as the sport’s creme of the crop. They aren’t. They are fake. There is nothing real about these people and shame on us too for buying into it. A guy like Vitor Belfort should be retired now and selling office copier equipment somewhere.

  22. Rob Maysey says:

    Out of curiousity–NSAC has taken the position (and have before too) that they can’t suspend Vitor because he does not hold a license.

    How, then, did NSAC have the authority to randomly test Vitor in the first instance?

    • 45 Huddle says:

      From my understand of the situation….

      1) The NSAC was aware of Belfort’s upcoming fight in Nevada.

      2) They asked him to take the random drug test due to his failed test against Henderson in Pride.

      3) Legally, Belfort had the right to say no to the test because he was no licensed with the NSAC.

  23. Rob Maysey says:

    So it was given with consent and no other authority.

    Belfort should have declined the test–as he wasn’t a license holder at the time.

    This would make sense I suppose.

    Perhaps the test was a convenience for both parties, or requested by Zuffa?

  24. Gwesd says:

    In most cases where a fighter has test hot previously a commission may ask him to take a drug test prior to his application being reviewed by the commission. If that came back clean, then his application would be reviewed at a commission meeting for approval/disapproval as in the case of Josh Barnett. By doing the drug test four months early gave the UFC time to ensure he could get licensed if he came back clear or else find another opponent for the match.

  25. rst says:

    I dintdoodaaaat….

    An amazing overture!
    Behold the fallout…

    Hendo says, what about the victims?!!!
    Blame it on 13 more people who “need” it, then the one shmuck who allegedly needs it…”.

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