We will be updating this post as more news and information comes are way. For now, Dana White has a huge headache, the fans are at risk of losing out on what would have been an amazing fight, and so, so much more is on the line for Alistair Overeem.

[UPDATES]

• Alistair Overeem’s future with the UFC is uncertain.
• Overeem was denied his Fight License and cannot reapply until December 27th for not disclosing the prescription at the time of the test.
• Gabriel Gonzaga will now face Roy Nelson.
• Alistair Overeem released a statement before his NSAC hearing. In it he reveals that he was prescribed anti-inflammatory medication for a rib injury that had testosterone in it.
• Cain Velasquez will now face Antonio “Big Foot” Silva. Roy Nelson is awaiting a new opponent.
• Should Overeem be granted a license. He will likely take the Co-Main Event spot and face Cain Velasquez. Velasquez has no opponent at this time. This is similar to how handled UFC 137′s card jumble between Condit, GSP, Diaz and Penn.
• Dana White tweeted late Friday night (4/20) that he will not wait another four days and has given the spot to Frank Mir after all.
• Mark Hunt will not replace Overeem should he not be licensed.
• Frank Mir will not be a replacement for Alistair Overeem. His fight with Cain Velasquez is a lock.
• Alistair Overeem will appear in front of the NSAC on April 24th. The outcome of this hearing will dictate the status of the fight.
• Alistair Overeem was not Licensed under the NSAC when tested. However, the elevated Testosterone levels could be grounds to deny him a Fight License for UFC 146.
• Junior Dos Santos will defend his title at UFC 146.

At the UFC 146 Press Conference, the 6 Heavyweight fighters present, Roy Nelson, Antonio Silva, Cain Velasquez, Frank Mir, Junior Dos Santos and Alistair Overeem were all subject to a random drug test. All fighters passed the drug test, however, Overeem’s Testosterone levels were well above the threshold upheld by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Nevada allows a 6-1 ratio of Testosterone to Epitestosterone. California is 4-1. Some countries, like Japan, don’t regulate Testosterone levels at all. Nevada follows the 6-1 ratio because, according to Keith Kizer, some athletes are naturally 5-1 and would otherwise not be cleared to fight in California despite no wrong-doing. In Overeem’s case however, it was originally reported that he had a 10-1 ratio, which is now being reported as a 14-1 ratio. Well above the allowable limit.

Alistair Overeem has been the target of PED, and Steroid abuse since leaving the Light Heavyweight Division in 2007, moving up to Heavyweight with at least 40lbs of additional muscle. However, in the last 5 years competing at Heavyweight, Overeem has never once tested positive for any banned substance, nor had he at Light Heavyweight, or ever at all. In fact, Overeem has been cited as being the most tested athlete because of his physical change, because of his popularity, Championship status in multiple organizations, so on and so forth.
It’s worth noting, to those that look at Overeem’s transformation as an “obvious” sign of using PED of some kind that while competing at Light Heavyweight, Overeem was still the 6’5″ man he is today. He was long, lanky and skinny, not unlike Jon Jones, 6’4″ or Cyrille Diabte, “6’6″. Compare that body frame to another Light Heavyweight in Ryan Bader, who has an incredibly muscular physique, but is only 6’2″.
So is it that far fetched, for Alistair Overeem, at 6’5″, walking around at 220lbs before cutting to 205lb to swell up as much as he did over a year’s time to 255lb at Heavyweight without the use of banned substances?
Keep in mind, although Overeem did compete overseas, where they maybe don’t test for Testosterone, or even other substances, he was also the StrikeForce Heavyweight Champion. While in StrikeForce, Overeem competed three times, one of which in California, and never tested positive. He most recently fought in the UFC, in Nevada, also, without testing positive.

It goes without saying that something is amiss. The fact is Alistair Overeem’s Testosterone levels were well above what they should be. But we don’t know why. Is he the next fighter to use the now infamous Testosterone Replacement Therapy? TRT has become wildly popular in MMA for a number of reasons. The obvious, is that it’s legal. Most recently, Rampage Jackson became an advocate for it when he used it to help recover from a knee injury before his fight at UFC 144 against Ryan Bader. Rampage has received quite a bit of criticism for that, but even before Rampage talked about it, other fighters have had similar issues. Dennis Hallman uses TRT because of Coeliac Disease. Without TRT his body simply would not be able to handle the workload of training for a fight and fighting. Dan Henderson says he uses it, likely because of A.G.E. Nate Marquardt wasn’t cleared for a fight because his Testosterone levels were too high, saying that something had been miscalculated with his TRT, resulting in him being cut from the UFC. Marquardt had tested positive for steroids in the past. Previous Steroid use can cause Low T, and is likely why he is dependent on TRT. Chael Sonnen, training partner of Dan Henderson, got busted for TRT after his fight with Anderson Silva, because his manager messed up the paperwork needed to clear him for the fight and was reported to have Hypogonadism.

Is Alistair Overeem simply the next fighter to use TRT and just get tested while his levels were high? Is it possible that Overeem has been using TRT the whole time? Does he need TRT because of previous Steroid use like Marqaurdt? Or is it a byproduct of something else entirely? We. Don’t. Know.

Nothing, other than the fact that his Testosterone levels are too high to cleared to fight. The fight isn’t for another six weeks. Can he be tested again, closer to when he’ll actually be competing, and be cleared for having acceptable levels? Would that be acceptable? At present time, the Main Event for UFC 146 is still on, but is very much in jeopardy of being changed with Dos Santos already confirmed to defend his Title regardless, Frank Mir throwing his name in the hat to replace Overeem and a fan petition to give Mark Hunt the spot has surfaced. Even Dan Henderson is rumored to be a possible replacement.

The fact that Overeem has elevated levels this far from the fight is enough to possibly take him out of the fight entirely bares some similarities to the current NSAC investigation into Nick Diaz after he tested positive for Marijuana Metabolites after his fight against Carlos Condit at UFC 143. As it stand now, Diaz is facing a possible suspension, but some interesting facts have come to light. Diaz admits to using Marijuana, but not in the week of the fight. He had stopped eight days prior. So, with any possible benefits or endangerment out of his system come fight time, should he really be punished? Afterall, it was a positive test for Metabolites stored in his fat, not THC present in his system.
What makes this similar to Overeem is that, although Overeem’s Testosterone may be high now, while he’s training, who’s to say that it will be come fight night? And is that all that matters? The debate over whether fighters should or shouldn’t be tested in camp has been an ongoing one, with fighters such as Georges St. Pierre calling for Olympic style testing, with random tests taken throughout the year, similar to the random test that Overeem took. But then that brings us back to the fact that, while his Testosterone is high, which isn’t allowed, that isn’t the same as if he had tested for a banned substance or an Anabolic Steroid. Cesar Gracie likened Nick Diaz use of Pot in the weeks before his test to that of Alcohol. Fighters can obviously drink however much they want, so long as they don’t consume any Alcohol within 24-48 hours before the fight. Should Marijuana, which is Diaz’s case was legal, and Testosterone, which is also legal, be treated any different from Alcohol?
It then becomes a debate of opinions and bias. Obviously, its easy to say that Testosterone is fully a PED and nothing else. Marijuana can be seen as PED in the eyes of Nick Diaz, Joe Rogan, Eddie Bravo, all who advocate it’s effects for lung expansion (Michael Phelps) and NSAC Chairman Dr. Tony Alamo who said he believed it makes Diaz numb to pain, something Pro Wrestler, and Marijuana advocate Rob Van Dam might agree with. He likened the effects to that of Somas, a muscle relaxer used and abused by Pro Wrestlers  in recent years that has literally resulted in dozens of deaths, but with out the risk of dying. Other would say if anything, Marijuana should be banned because it’s a danger to the fighter in terms of reaction time, decision-making and so on. And then there’s Alcohol which would only be seen as detrimental to a fighter. Obviously, fighting drunk would be bad, and that’s why there’s a rule in place, just in case.

While the Marijuana debate will seemingly never end any sooner in the NSAC than it will in the National Government, and no fighter has ever been busted for Alcohol brings us back to Testosterone. It’s legal. Within a specific, rather large range. And how much it needs to be regulated is an inevitable discussion that must and will take place, at the moment we’re left where we started; Alistair Overeem’s Testosterone levels are elevated above the allowed limit 6 weeks before he’s supposed to fight. Is that a problem? It certainly presents a risk that his levels will remain high and won’t be allowed to fight, so should he be penalized now? When Marquardt had the same issue, they rode it out until the very last minute, not pulling him out of the fight until the week of. Will and should Overeem be given the same treatment? Is that a risk Dana White, the UFC and NSAC are willing to take?

Alistair Overeem’s “A” sample tested positive. He can ask for his “B” sample to be tested, but likely won’t because the likelihood that it would test differently is highly unlikely. His other option is to appear in front of the NSAC at a hearing to determine whether or not he will be granted a license to fight or if some other action can take place.

To summarize this article, we turn to Chael Sonnen…

We’ll have more in the coming week.

[UPDATE]

• Should Overeem be granted a license. He will likely take Mir’s spot and face Cain Velasquez. Otherwise, Velasquez has no opponent at this time.
• Dana White tweeted late Friday night (4/20) that he will not wait another four days and has given the spot to Frank Mir after all.
• Mark Hunt will not replace Overeem should he not be licensed.
• Frank Mir will not be a replacement for Alistair Overeem. His fight with Cain Velasquez is a lock.
• Alistair Overeem will appear in front of the NSAC on April 24th. The outcome of this hearing will dictate the status of the fight.
• Alistair Overeem was not Licensed under the NSAC when tested. However, the elevated Testosterone levels could be grounds to deny him a Fight License for UFC 146.
• Junior Dos Santos will defend his title at UFC 146.