MMA & Drugs

[Shaolin Wookie]

If you mix your martial arts, sooner or later, you're going to mix your drugs.


MMA is like weed---it's a gateway.......

[WinterPalm]

As soon as I saw Sakuraba/Royce II, I knew that he was juicing. The guy has fought competitively on and off for years, including against Matt Hughes, and he didn't look anywhere near the shape he was in there.

But for the most part, you cannot tell if someone is juicing it or not. Tim Sylvia got popped and he's not exactly a Mr. Universe type!

[GeneChing]

I just didn't feel like making a new thread for MMA & ice.

Sentencing For MMA Fighter Delayed In U.S. District Court
Pacific News Center Staff Reporter 30.OCT.07
6:55 p.m. There's been a delay in the sentencing of convicted drug dealer Layton Ray Borja today in District Court. District Court Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood continued Borja's sentencing until November 19th in order to be able to call police officers in as witnesses.

Borja, a mixed martial arts fighter, faces a minimum sentence of up to 12 years and seven months in prison for possession with intent to deliver crystal methamphetamine, or the drug ‘ice’.

Because of his record as a career criminal, Borja faced a higher sentence, but the district court ruled that since the judgments on his Superior Court drug convictions in 2003 and 2005 were not entered into the record by the Superior Court Clerk's Office until just two months ago, the U.S. Attorney's office is now unable to ask for more time behind bars.

Unified Court Spokesman Dan Tydingco says a review of Superior Court procedures is under way in light of the revelation that Borja’s cases were not properly docketed

[GeneChing]

Any steroid stats for WWE? Just curious.

MMA not immune to steroid issues
By Dave Meltzer, Yahoo! Sports

With last week’s release of baseball’s Mitchell Report, as well as suggestions for improving the game, it's a good time to take a look at mixed martial arts and how to combat performance enhancing drugs.

One of the big problems with this topic, in all sports, is that the athletes have been taught, out of basic self-preservation, to lie about usage. It is a natural defensive mechanism: the public considers performance-enhancing drug use cheating, but the players who use rationalize that it's something the public doesn't understand.

So it becomes difficult to combat the problem, because there is no simple solution, and working on the complex question of how to truly level the playing field requires admitting the problem is widespread.

Worse, because the problem is widespread, it does the athletes no favors.

Every fighter who has a good physique, whether clean or not, is widely not just suspected but presumed to be on steroids. Since top-level fighters train extremely hard, those with good genetics are going to be pretty muscular to begin with, particularly when competing in a weight-class sport. The goal is to have the most muscle possible at a given weight, which makes body fat your enemy. So a clean, hard trainer with some genetic gifts is in many circles a suspect.

Even worse, those who train hard are suspected because steroids help in recovery from training. Those who show great strength, explosiveness, or simply stay competitive at an older age, are also the heaviest suspects.

In many cases, there is probably truth to the matter. But sadly, there have been athletes with great physiques who trained exceptionally hard and somehow managed to recover from that training who were strong and had great longevity long before athletes were using and abusing steroids.

And they competed at times when equipment, training techniques and knowledge of nutrition were primitive compared with today. But it's sad that some of the most successful performers who train the hardest have people saying, wink-wink, they must be on something. And this comes with no evidence except the fact they are successful, are in shape and train very hard, things they should be admired for.

Mixed martial arts has its own unique set of issues. With the sport still in its infancy, any perception that it may be a drug sport could risk alienating the public. A steroid issue won't affect the NFL’s bottom line, but the last thing MMA needs is the idea its fighters are guys on steroids beating each other up. MMA has had to work very hard to clean up what had been a largely unfair public image.

For a fringe sport, the steroid label can be ****ing, both when it comes to sponsorship and mainstream acceptance. Bodybuilding, powerlifting, weightlifting and track & field, even at the top level, have virtually no mainstream interest today as compared with previous generations, all in large part because of the drug cloud that hangs over all of their heads.

But the fact is, steroids work. In baseball, it's one thing to try to get an edge to keep your job. In MMA, there are limited numbers of jobs with top organizations. If you are outgunned in MMA it's not a matter of having your long fly balls caught or going over the fence, it's a matter of avoiding getting beaten up. That's quite the incentive to rationalize what you are doing isn't cheating, particularly if you think everyone is doing it, including your opponent. Potential health risks never scared athletes in other sports, but in this one you choose between an immediate health risk of being beaten up that you know is real, or a potential long-term health risk that many rationalize won't happen to them.

In California, over the past eight months, there have been 15 steroid positives in 54 MMA events, including major names like Royce Graice, Johnnie Morton, Phil Baroni and Sean Sherk, even though all but Morton publicly claimed they were innocent. Keep in mind that on most of the smaller events, only around six competitors per show were tested. On big events like UFC, K-1 and Strikeforce, every competitor was tested.

During the same time frame, there were two steroid positives in 85 pro boxing events in California and no positives in 13 kickboxing events.

In recent years, three UFC champions – Tim Sylvia, Josh Barnett and Sherk – tested positive in championship matches that they won. In Barnett's case, he tested positive the night he won the heavyweight championship from Randy Couture. Barnett and Sherk were stripped of their title while Sylvia voluntarily relinquished his before it would have been taken away.

PRIDE fighting superstars came to the U.S. this year and, as a general rule, were disappointments. PRIDE did not test for steroids before or after Japanese events, and the fact that fighters who excelled under those conditions did not do so with testing in place led to plenty of speculation.

Without steroids, fighters feel different. They don't have the same level of power or aggressiveness. Whether it always works, when fighters are facing a guy they presume is on steroids, their strategy is very different. They often rely on playing an early defensive game when the opponent would be at his strongest, thinking the early boost works against them in later rounds.

At this point, few MMA promotions do any drug testing. Most rely on the local state athletic commission. UFC has done random testing when they have run shows in the United Kingdom, because their equivalent of athletic commissions do not oversee MMA events.

This leads to inconsistent application and inconsistent punishment. California has a one-year penalty for a positive, but if you complain about it, there's a good chance it'll be cut to six months. Nevada seems to have a uniform nine months. Nevada fines a percentage of the purse, while California fines everyone, whether they make $500 for a match or $500,000, the same $2,500.

In Nevada and New Jersey, if you win a fight and test positive for performance-enhancing drugs, the result will likely be changed to a no contest. In California, the result stands, so Royce Gracie still has a recorded victory over Kazushi Sakuraba (after which he tested positive for steroids), which wouldn't be the case if that fight had been in Nevada.

On a positive note, MMA fighters, at least in key states, are tested by an outside agency. That probably makes the results more credible than a league whose best interests are in keeping taint away from its superstars. There has been much controversy over allegations baseball players were tipped off a day ahead of testing, and thus perverting the process.

In MMA, every fighter not only knows days ahead, but usually a month or two ahead, when he is going to be tested – the day before or day of the fight. But a fighter is not tested between fights.

The current process is better than nothing, but it is inadequate for combating the significance of the problem. Fighters have to be under the fear that an unannounced test can come at any time and with no warning. Without that, it becomes a game of learning to time how many days before a test your body clears whatever substance you are using. There is no deterrent for using, only for using during a short time frame before a fight.

The major promoters and major commissions need to work together to come up with a system that creates a uniform policy, both for suspensions, and overturning wins by fighters who test positive.

Ultimately, anything short of unannounced year-around testing isn't going to act as a significant deterrent, or leave anyone with full confidence in the system.

That leads to the worst problem of all. The fighters who are clean are not only at a competitive disadvantage in a sport where that disadvantage can mean a lot of physical pain, but if they are talented enough and train hard and smart enough to overcome it and dominate, they become the ones suspected the most.

[sanjuro_ronin]

And they competed at times when equipment, training techniques and knowledge of nutrition were primitive compared with today. But it's sad that some of the most successful performers who train the hardest have people saying, wink-wink, they must be on something. And this comes with no evidence except the fact they are successful, are in shape and train very hard, things they should be admired for.

This is so naive...

[GeneChing]

Busted MMA fighters can be quite different than busted teachers.

MMA's Borja to serve 12 years in prison
By Stephanie Godlewski
Pacific Daily News
smgodlewski@guampdn.com

Leyton Borja, a mixed martial arts fighter, was sentenced to 151 months in prison with rehabilitation treatment to be determined by the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse. Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood waived any fine due to Borja's inability to pay.

He was also ordered to undergo three years of supervised release after his prison sentence, and received credit for time served.

Borja was arrested in February of last year for possession of methamphetamine hydrochloride, also known as ice, with intent to distribute.
The fighter had pleaded guilty. His initial sentencing was continued after contention arose over whether he assaulted a police officer at the time of his arrest.

The court asked the prosecution to bring to court the officers present during the incident to testify as to what occurred.

Airport police officer Keith Santos testified that Borja had assaulted him by throwing a police scanner at him then pushing him against a railing. Guam Police Department Sgt. James Santos testified yesterday that when he came upon the scene, two police officers were attempting to restrain Borja, but he was being "very combative and belligerent."

Defense attorney Howard Trapp, however, noted that James Santos had not seen how the incident began and whether Borja had incited it.

As the hearing continued, the prosecution argued that due to Borja's extensive mixed martial arts training, he posed a risk of serious bodily injury to the arresting officers.

Trapp argued that due to his mixed martial arts training, Borja was versed in how to cause serious injury, but didn't do so.

"I don't think we should give him six points for being a mixed martial arts fighter," Trapp said.

Tydingco-Gatewood ruled that Borja did pose a threat and therefore the six points were added to the offense level. Guidelines stated Borja should be sentenced to 151 months to 188 months in prison and be forced to pay a fine of $15,000 to $1 million.

After further arguments, Tydingco-Gatewood ruled on the lower end of the scale, taking into account recommendations from the prosecution, probation, Borja's difficult childhood and previous success at rehabilitation.

[Becca]

Interesting... I'm assuming the "points" that were added would make the charges worse, the way a 3 point trafic violation becomes a 5 point violation if you are found to be under the influence...

There's two sides to that. If the fighter really wanted to do harm, he would not have simply shoved the arresting officer. On the other hand, with his extensive training, he had to know that the authorities would treat any sign of hostility from him much more seriously that they would from, say, a nun... Of course, he was trying to sell drugs, so he couldn't have been that bright...

[GeneChing]

Maybe this should go on the Frank Shamrock Cung Le thread. I'll do a cross link.

MMA Fighter's Medical Marijuana Leads to Trouble With California Athletic Commission
Michael David SmithPosted Mar 27th 2008 8:29PM by Michael David Smith

Nick Diaz is a mixed martial arts fighter who was scheduled to fight in Saturday night's EliteXC event in San Jose, California.

But the California State Athletic Commission has refused to license him for the fight. And the reason, according to EliteXC President Gary Shaw, is that Diaz has a prescription for medical marijuana. His manager Cesar Gracie says Diaz uses marijuana to combat attention deficit disorder:

"Nick is a naturalist by heart," said Gracie. "He thinks Ritalin is an amphetamine. He thinks that's really bad for you. People with ADD are kind of hyper, so he has trouble sleeping. He got the medical marijuana card and he takes his pot to go to sleep and be more focused. It's completely legal in California. Voters voted it in. The commission is actually supposed to obey that, so this will probably open up a legal case. If it was something small, OK, f---- it, whatever. But if they're not even going to allow him to test clean, that doesn't make sense. That's overstepping their boundaries."

But the Commission says that no matter what state law is on medical marijuana, it has its own rules, and that Diaz is in violation of those rules. Diaz, who last year was fined $3,000 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for a positive marijuana test, will be out the $50,000 purse he would have earned for Saturday night's fight. He is expected to fight next in Hawaii in June.

[1bad65]

They do not test for drugs in Texas.

Your blood is only tested for AIDS and Hepatitis.

[jackmcmanus21]

The only way they could really put a hammer on the steroid issue is if they tested every fighter before and after every event. It is going to be tough to police it.

[GeneChing]

Does anyone else get stuck on the phone part of oxymorPHONE?

MMA fighters test positive for illegal painkillers
By THE CANADIAN PRESS

Two mixed martial arts fighters, taking part in different cards the same night in July, have tested positive for the powerful painkiller oxymorphone.

James (The Sandman) Irvin failed a drug test in Nevada while fellow light-heavyweight Justin (The Executioner) Levens was nabbed in California.

Irvin, who also tested positive for methadone, was beaten in the main event of a UFC card July 19 in Las Vegas. Levens was slated to compete the same night in Anaheim, Calif., on rival promoter Affliction's debut event. Ironically, the 28-year-old Levens did not fight that night due to time constraints.

Drugs.com lists methadone and oxymorphone as narcotic pain relievers, similar to morphine. They are not approved by the Nevada and California athletic commissions and both are on the World Anti-Doping Agency's prohibited list.

Levens (9-8) has been suspended until Jan. 15, 2009, and fined US$1,000. Levens' purse that night was reportedly $6,000.

Irvin (14-4-1), who faces a suspension and fine, has been requested to answer the Nevada commission's allegation in writing. His purse was $20,000

[Three Harmonies]

SH!T! Silva hit's so hard his opponents are STILL knocked the f&$k out, even when doped up on pain killers!!
Silva is the bomb! Mark my words he is going to be neck to neck with Fedor for the best ever!
Cheers
Jake

[mkriii]

ah heck, what's the harm in doing a little deca or a little d-ball from time to time. A good roid rage is good for ya. Let's ya get out all the stress and tention thats been building up inside. If ya smoke a little weed it will melow you out and you'll be back to normal in a matter of a few tokes.

[GeneChing]

Mixed martial arts fighter Nick Diaz suspended in Nevada for positive post-bout marijuana test
By Associated Press, Published: February 22

LAS VEGAS — Mixed martial arts fighter Nick Diaz won’t be competing in Nevada any time soon.

The Nevada Athletic Commission on Wednesday handed the UFC welterweight a temporary suspension for testing positive for marijuana after his Feb. 4 loss to Carlos Condit in Las Vegas.

Commission executive Keith Kizer says Diaz can respond to the positive drug test allegation at a full disciplinary hearing if he seeks reinstatement. No hearing date was set.

Diaz lost his license for six months and was fined $3,000 by the commission after another positive marijuana test following a win in 2007.

Diaz manager-trainer Cesar Gracie didn’t immediately respond to a message at his business in Pleasant Hill, Calif.

Are there any other MMA fighters who use medical marijuana?

[GeneChing]

UFC STATEMENT ON ANDERSON SILVA

February 03, 2015

“On February 3, 2015, the UFC organization was notified by the Nevada State Athletic Commission that Anderson Silva tested positive for Drostanolone metabolites on his Jan. 9 out of competition drug test. UFC’s understanding is that further testing will be conducted by the Commission to confirm these preliminary results.
“Anderson Silva has been an amazing champion and a true ambassador of the sport of mixed martial arts and the UFC, in Brazil as well as around the world. UFC is disappointed to learn of these initial results.
"The UFC has a strict, consistent policy against the use of any illegal and/or performance enhancing drugs, stimulants or masking agents by its athletes."

UFC STATEMENT ON NICK DIAZ

February 03, 2015

"The UFC has been notified by the Nevada State Athletic Commission that Nick Diaz has tested positive for marijuana metabolites following his fight with Anderson Silva at UFC 183 on Jan. 31 in Las Vegas, Nev. The UFC has a strict, consistent policy against the use of any illegal and/or performance enhancing drugs, stimulants or masking agents by our athletes. As a result of his positive test, Diaz has been informed that he has violated the UFC Fighter Conduct Policy and Promotional Agreement with Zuffa, LLC. The UFC organization will fully respect the Commission’s decision relating to Diaz at a hearing set for February 17."

I forgot about this thread. I was posting Jon 'Bones' Jones recent drug fail on Busted-MMA-fighters-and-fights when it really should have been here.