Yesterday the sport of mixed martial arts was rocked by the announcement that Alistair Overeem had tested positive in a pre-fight drugs test for his May 26th heavyweight title fight with Junior Dos Santos at UFC 146, and today more details emerged revealing just how badly he failed the test.
The legal limit for a Testosterone / Epitestosterone ratio (T/E ratio) is 6/1, and after the Nevada State Athletic Commission first claimed that Overeem’s ratio for his ‘A’ sample was “over 10/1” it’s now been revealed that it was infact 14/1.
That’s well over double the legal limit and leaves little room for doubt that Overeem is in deep water over this situation.
Technically the current heavyweight No.1 contender could request that his ‘B’ sample be investigated to see if there was an error in the first test, and if that did prove to be within the legal limits then he could still have a chance to fight in May.
Realistically the writing seems on the wall however, and it’s telling that according to NSAC’s Keith Keizer so far no-one from Overeem’s camp has contacted them to request that the ‘B’ sample be looked at.
So, unfortunately it would appear that we are now getting to the truth of the matter regarding how Alistair Overeem managed to transform into the hulking “Ubereem” figure that we see before us today.
In recent years he’s had an almost unparalleled run of success outside of the UFC, becoming the Strikeforce heavyweight champion, the DREAM heavyweight champion, and becoming the first man ever to hold both a major MMA title and the prestigious K-1 kickboxing GP championship, but if this drugs test sticks then it will tarnish the reputation of the 31 year-old who was the subject of constant rumors about potential steroid abuse during that period, though it should be stressed that until now there had been no evidence of any wrongdoing.
As a side note, some may wonder whether the results of this test could invalidate Overeem’s December win over Brock Lesnar in the UFC, resulting in a no-contest, but according to Keith Kizer it would have no bearing on that fight.
