 MMA
and Drugs: A Major Problem it Seems
20 positive tests of
fighters in both boxing and Mixed Martial Arts with
90% of the positive drug tests coming from Mixed
Martial Arts fighters. These were the results
and yeah there is a problem here.
And the problem is
not isolated to lesser known fighters.
Ultimate Fighting Championship star Royce Gracie
tested positive for a steroid after winning a fight
earlier this month and could face a year's
suspension, the head of the California Athletic
Commission said Friday.
The 40-year-old
Gracie tested positive for a nandrolone metabolite
steroid after beating Kazushi Sakuraba in a June 2
match at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Gracie will be
suspended and fined up to $2,500, but has 30 days to
appeal the decision, said Armando Garcia, the
panel's executive officer. Gracie will appeal
the decision.
 "I
will appeal the decision for sure, I have been a
fighter for 14 years and have never taken any
illegal substances, so I am sure this is just a
misunderstanding."
The news comes
following allegations that big name
UFC
fighter Chuck Liddell had just come out of rehab for
a substance abuse problem.
Earlier it was
announced that two other fighters on the card also
tested positive for drugs.
Tim Persey tested positive for methamphetamine. He
was suspended for six months and fined $1,000
pending appeal, Garcia said.
Results of a test taken before his fight indicated
that former NFL receiver Johnnie Morton had a high
level of testosterone, indicating he had abused a
steroid before the contest, Garcia said.
He declined to take a post-fight "drugs of abuse"
test and was suspended indefinitely by the athletic
commission, Garcia said.
It was the second time in a week that a fighter has
been identified as testing positive for steroids.
The athletic commission said Wednesday that
three-time champion James Toney and Danny Batchelder,
his opponent in a heavyweight boxing match May 24 in
San Jose, tested positive for steroids. They were
suspended indefinitely.
Michael David Smith
of
AOL Sports writes:
"UFC often doesn't have drug tests, and that has the
potential to tarnish the sport's image. If mixed
martial arts is ever going to shed the "human
cockfighting" label once and for all, it has to be
perceived as clean, and that will only happen when
every single competitor is tested."
---
Christopher
Costigan, Sports911.com
Originally
published June 18, 2007 1:49 pm ET
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