brashleyholland

Just to play both sides...what's wrong with him going 'the over the counter route' if that's exactly what happened? Most of this is just speculation at the moment. All we know as facts are that A)He tested positive, B) It was for elevated Testosterone and C)He told an official that he took something before the fight. As far as we know, he had the flu/a skin rash/whatever before the bout, took an over-the counter-product that contained a steroid and told the official that he would pop for a performance enhancer. This could be just as true as the idea that he's been injecting some kind of Testosterone every day for the past six months. Saying that he got something over the counter isn't any kind of excuse and won't get him any leniency. It's the fighters responsibility to know what's in their body and ignorance isn't an excuse. What I will say though is now that we know that Chael is appealing, it's less likely that he said to the official that he had taken something which could only have been in his system for performance enhancing purposes...otherwise what is he appealing?

So Escudero is gone...bit of a head-scratcher, considering they're trying to crack Mexico and he's a good, cheap fighter. I've heard that there was some ill will towards him with regards to how he handled his weight following the change in opponent. Also, Karaev is out of the Final 16, so Ray Sefo will step in against Tyrone Spong. One last run for Sefo then!

From Sherdog.com's latest on Sonnen-gate... ...VERY interesting.

There has been a precedent set in California with fighters appealing a suspension and having the term reduced from 12 months to 6 months. Sean Sherk one example of this...James Toney is another. Note that both appealed and denied they had knowingly ingested a banned substance...neither actually provided any proof whatsoever that this was the case. Toney's appeal was particularly ridiculous, centring around the fact that people were 'out to get him' and he was 'set up'. So you accept your suspension or chose not to appeal and you get 12 months. You appeal without any evidence and you get six. Nope, that's not a typo, it really is as stupid as it sounds.

Ok, so as this news continues to trickle out it looks like Chael has been popped for a natural steroid. This probably means that this was an over the counter supplement that contained something on the banned list. It won't make it any easier to appeal...ignorance is not an excuse etc. It should make it easier to get the suspension down to 6 months. It's also worth noting that he hasn't been suspended or fined ($2,500, ha!) yet. He's got 26 days left to appeal. If he does, a hearing will then be scheduled where his case will be heard. This could take months...it's a safe bet to say that the July rematch is off, even if his appeal is successful. In other news, Rico is out of his Bellator fight with Dave Herman. Talk about not being able to get a break.

While I can't comment on what evidence he does or doesn't have, and I don't agree that 100% of people in MMA are using or have used, as someone who is very much involved in the MMA industry I can tell you that lots, and lots, and lots of people, many of whom you see on the big MMA shows week-in, week-out, use, or have used, items on the banned list. It is very, very common.

Firstly, 'illegal' and 'on the banned substances list' are two very different things. Secondly, there is nothing from athletic commissions prohibiting an MMA fighter from taking something 'out of competition'. You're not allowed to have banned substances or drugs of abuse in your system immediately before or during a fight (hence samples are taken before and after). What you do in your 'off season' is none of their business. You're right, the system is rubbish. It's akin to the police calling a known bank robber and saying "We've got information that a robbery is planned at your local bank, and we think you could be involved. We need you to come to the police station at 10 am on the 1st of October and we're going to search you. If we find a lock pick, you're going to prison." Assuming you leave your balaclava and swag bag at home, you're scott-free. Should, but aren't. Also, there are just as many items on the 'banned list' that are available over the counter, therefore no prescription is required. I never said it didn't. That doesn't stop people from taking a calculated risk. The UFC, for example, fly every single one of their fighters out annually for a seminar on the dangers of PEDs etc. If someone wants to play that game and can get away with it, where's the incentive to stop? I never said it did. The problem isn't exclusive to doctors. As I said, a lot of these things don't require prescriptions. It's also common practise for fighters to buy things online, bypassing the need for a doctor, or from a guy at the gym who does the importing for them. Yes, there are doctor who will bend rules....but there are also genuine doctors who are duped by fighters. 'MMA' isn't a regulatory body though...unlike most sports, there is no internationally recognised governing body to make things uniform. You're looking at over 50 different regulatory bodies in the US and Canada alone, all of which would need to pass an identical piece of legislation. But that's the interesting question...if certain 'PED's were taken off the banned list and their use more closely regulated, you'd remove the 'cheating' and 'dishonesty' labels. Wouldn't that be better, if the fact is that people will continue to use them anyway?

EPIC POST ALERT!!!! (Hopefully there is some interesting stuff in there though ) Saying that every top fighter in MMA is on PED or whatever is as wrong as saying that every top fighter isn't. The truth is that many of them will have, at some time, taken something. Where it gets confusing is that in many cases, they will have done nothing wrong. Many 'PED's (and I'll just use that as a catch-all term for PEDs, roids, etc) are not illegal at all. As long as you have them prescribed, they're no more illegal than Aspirin. What they ARE, is on a banned substance list...you're not allowed to have them in your system WHEN YOU FIGHT. Because there is no year-round testing policy, what you do when you're not fighting is your own business. What this means is that you can use certain things to help you recover from an injury for example. They might be prescribed by your doc, they might not. You've not done anything wrong. You can use Human Growth Hormone (HGH) which is not tested for. You've done nothing wrong. But, if you have these things, or traces of them, in your system on fight day, you have broken the rules. If you fight primarily in Japan, Brazil or anywhere else without regulatory supervision, you can be jacked up on anything you want, because it's not against the rules to do so. The issue is this; the advantages of using these things for a period of time can stay with an athlete for life. So essentially you can cheat for a couple of years, then never use so much as a tube of Deep Heat for the rest of your life, but your body will be in a condition it never could have reached naturally. Another misconception is that PED's are some kind of magical talent juice...you can just half-ass it, drink a big glass of roids, and you're good to go. Again, you couldn't be further from the truth. If you're taking something that lets you train harder, for longer and recover quicker so you can do it more often...well, you actually have to train harder, longer and more often before it'll benefit you. It could be argued that those fighters are putting more work in than someone who isn't using. If you're starting out in MMA, you can't afford the good stuff (and by that I mean things that will go undetected or masking/flushing agents), period. But then it doesn't matter as much if you miss your amateur fight or $200 payday pro fight because of a knock or niggling injury. There'll be another fight in a couple of weeks. If you're a pro depending on a $100,000 payday, knowing that you can only earn that kind of scratch twice, three times a year, you have a mortgage to pay, family to support, etc...all of a sudden it becomes a lot easier to reach for that bottle. Again, alot of the time there is nothing illegal about it either. Add to that the chance that your opponent could be doing a similar thing - lets say 25% of upper level fighters are 'on something' (that's just a random number btw), that's still a big gamble to take when your career is on the line. PED's are fine and not dangerous if used properly, under doctors instruction. Problems arise when you can walk into almost any gym anywhere in the world and get hold of ANYTHING, if you know the right guy. If people want to eradicate their use, then testing needs to be improved across the board. Urinalysis is the only test used at the moment...there are more ways to cheat a urinalysis than there are armbars at a Gracie family reunion.

It's true. Once you've been notified it means that they've got a positive result on your A and B samples. Obviously, there is the possibility that the sample was tainted; other athletes have called the testing methods into question. Unfortunately they have never got anything overturned, and in Josh Barnett's case, has been caught a number of times by different labs. PED's are very, very prevalent in MMA. It's true what people say; passing a drug test is essentially passing an IQ test - unfortunately Sonnen wasn't smart enough not to get caught.

Ok, K-1 have now made an official announcement. Despite 'The Voice's claims to the contrary, it now looks like AA *WILL* be in the Final 16, matched up with Raul Catinas (notable KO wins over Carter Williams and Stefan Leko). He's very... unpolished, but hits like a truck. Quite interested to see how this goes down. Also of note from the announcement, Hari and Bonjasky are now officially out, confirming a couple of rumours that have been floating around.

Also, looks like Arlovski will indeed be involved in the 'WGP Final 16' event in Korea, although he won't be part of the tournament itself, instead competing in a superfight. Sergei Kharitonov? And if so...why not just have them compete in an MMA fight? I guess the thought process behind it is that if one of them wins in a spectacular way, they could be useful as alternates for the WGP Finals.

So Sonnen has been busted for PEDs. Wow. If he appeals successfully, then the proposed January rematch with Silva should be able to go ahead...it depends when the hearings are set etc. It's worth noting that a fighter successfully appealing a positive drug test is historically a rare occurrence. Secondly, if he appeals unsuccessfully, or simply doesn't appeal, then he'll be looking at a year out, so August 7th, 2011. Sean Sherk appealed the length of his suspension and had it reduced to six months. That would put Sonnen's suspension at 7th of Feb. Either way, it kills the momentum for Silva Sonnen 2. Regardless, I'd be highly surprised if the instant rematch goes ahead now. I guess we'll see for certain what's more important to the UFC; integrity or profit. I hope it's the former.

Ron? I'd still put that guy ahead of Big Dave in the cardio stakes :-p Nobody took it seriously because it didn't happen, thank goodness. That team has a history of accusations, but unless we have a Men In Black-level conspiracy theory on our hands, it's all good. The officials checked him; no grease, no oil, no balm. It's all gravy baby. Yes, yes he is!

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="SaySo" data-cite="SaySo" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26660" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I don't see how Batista could even survive in MMA. He was like a bouncer before becoming a sports entertainer. If Batista is going to be fighting, maybe he should start with the Jose Cansecos of MMA (if he's even fighting still).</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> You never know....he's a big dude, if he was matched up with a small 0-0 or 0-1 heavyweight then he might be able to pull off a win. In terms of him beating anyone even remotely relevant though, it's a non-starter. </p><p> </p><p> The plan was to feed him to Lashley, in the hope that people would pay for it based on their WWE backgrounds, and that the exposure could slingshot Lashley into a title fight against Fedor/Overeem/Werdum. It was a rotten idea.</p>

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Stennick" data-cite="Stennick" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26660" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>What the status of the freak show....er I mean fight between Batista and Lashley, was that just MMA fantasy booking or are they getting something done?</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Still no deal with Batista...they were originally aiming for an October/November PPV with that fight and Fedor/Overeem...what with Fedor and Lashley losing and Batista not signing, and a whole host of other issues, it's not come off.</p>

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="sabataged" data-cite="sabataged" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> I just think Taker has 2 WMs left in him and 1 will be HHH and the last will be Cena.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I'm not even that much of a wrestling fan, but the thought of The Undertaker losing to John Cena in his last match (I assume he'll be losing his WM streak to put somebody over in his last match) kinda makes me do a little sick in my mouth. </p><p> </p><p> I always assumed he'd lose to 'the next big thing' when he finally gives up the WM streak. Being 'that guy' would be worth more than any title belt, surely.</p>

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Stennick" data-cite="Stennick" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26660" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>HAHAHA stay classy Bobby. Boot somebodies career? You're a NOBODY, beating Bobby Lashley is barely a step up from beating any other scrub. The guy had an undefeated record through what? 3 or 4 fights? He's been in MMA for what? Less than a year full time? I'm not saying he wouldn't have won but he's not to a point where beating him helps anybodies career. More than it would against any number of nobody opponents.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I think Lashley's problem is that he's got a ton of people around him telling him that he's the next Brock Lesnar, when that's clearly not the case. He's not as well-known, talented, charismatic or bankable in any way, shape or form. Lots of potential there, but the last 12 months have unfortunately proved that Lashley was too busy believing his own hype.</p>

I really don't think it is at this stage. It's weird, this is a fight I've wanted to see for a long time...but now that it's here it means so little. I guess I was anticipating BJ moving back to 170lbs after clearing out the 155 division and taking the trilogy from Hughes as a way to get his feet wet at welterweight before going after a Fitch/Hardy. Now, even if he wins he's still in limbo...can't put him back in the 155lb race as long as Edgar is around, same goes for GSP at 170. Maybe if St Pierre beats Kos and Shields/Kampmann he'll move up, but that's a long way off. Still, should be an intriguing fight to watch. Surfing. I'm going to say surfing

See, if only they were working as a team again....

Yeah, it's free with XL on Virgin...although it works out at about the same price as getting the smallest TV package plus £12.99 a month for ESPN. I don't have them to hand, but as far as I understand the WWE's PPV numbers are pretty insignificant. Here's the issue though. When I was young, I would record WWE PPV's and watch them on Monday after school. My young cousin does the same thing, either records or watches the Box Office replay because he's too young to stay up till 4am on a Sunday. With a live fight, the whole point is watching it live. We already know that people won't buy PPV over here, I'd wager that people won't pay to watch a next day replay either. By the time Sunday evening rolls around, results are all over the internet anyway - and now they'll be all over Sky Sports as well. I'm sure they won't be patronising, but there is a conflict of interest. Sky Sports News is going to be covering the UFC...which is great, really great. But are they really going to push the boat out in terms of telling people they can watch the UFC on ESPN? Hmmm.

The simple answer is $$$. The slightly more convoluted one is that UFC Champion Randy Couture had walked out on the UFC to fight Fedor and was in the midst of a contract dispute. So Nog held the interim belt, but the UFC were planning on the Couture thing going to court, as he had Mark Cuban as a financial backer (Cuban wanted to put Couture vs Fedor on HDNet). Because they didn't know how long the Couture situation would last, they had to take a 'business as usual approach with the Interim Championship. Mir was the top contender, so they made the Mir/Nog match. The one and only reason that Couture wasn't stripped of the title was that the dispute centred around the definition of 'retirement'...had the UFC stripped him of the belt (thus no longer recognising him as their champion, essentially acknowledging his 'retirement'), it would have been harder for them to argue in court that they expected him to return to the Octagon. I asked the UFC's UK president this, and I'm going to ask Dana at 120. As far as the 'here and now' goes, they have a long-ish deal with ESPN. I've been told that rumours of PPV are 'conspiracy theories'...that doesn't mean that a move to Sky Sports is out of the question in the future. Part of this deal is that Sky News will cover the UFC...to me, this is a set up for Sky to enter a bidding war with ESPN (one they'd be likely to win) for UFC events when the contract comes up. It's a kicker for UK fans as many get ESPN free on BT Vision or Virgin media. Sky Sports is available on those platforms, but you have to pay an additional premium. As for right now, I don't have Sky Sports. If I want to watch football that isn't on ESPN, I go to the pub. If I want to watch TUF (which is being aired 6 days later than the US broadcast) I have to pay for Sky Sports. MMA fans simply aren't going to pay that for TUF. It was bed enough asking them to wait three/four days in the past, but a week? Plus, who watches weekly episodic programming on a premium sports channel? Will TUF get pre-empted for live sports (yes)? Now, I've got a lot of stick from US fans in the past when I've written about what a bad move it would be for the UFC to try PPV in the UK. The argument that "You guys shouldn't complain because we've been paying for it for years" simply doesn't wash. The UK does not do PPV, simple as. Whether it's 'fair' or not is irrelevant.

Actually, they signed him up to put him in the hall of fame and lose to Brock Lesnar. They didn't expect much from Brock, even after the Mir fight, and the plan was to have him go on a 'Hall of Fame' tour of Coleman, Couture, Dan Severn (seriously) and Ken Shamrock (no, seriously) before throwing him to the wolves and laughing all the way to the bank. I think it really depends on the individual. The trouble is that there isn't really a 'test case' for it, because the UFC marketing machine is such a juggernaut. It would be interesting to see how many people tuned in for Kimbo's next fight after the Pettruzelli KO, or how many PPV's Liddell vs Franklin would have sold outside of the UFC.

HKL is mooting the idea that Badr Hari wont fight at the Final 16 this year. Wow. Apparently he's currently on the lamb in Morocco (which I believe is a non-extradition country) as he's wanted for questioning in connection with an alleged assault. I remember this happening, but I'd assumed it was just another 'fighter gets into a bit of fisticuffs, gets in trouble with the police' thing. Apparently it's more serious than that, serious enough for him to leave the country when he's wanted for questioning anyway. Gonna speak to some Dutch people and see if I can't find out what the deal is. Anyway, HKL has linked an interview with a K-1 fansite where he says that K-1 have offered him a ton of money to fight this year, but after the street fight thing and the near-riot he caused at the Amsterdam Arena earlier this year, he wants time to sort his head out. He's looking at next year for a return. That's a big blow to the Final 16.

I don't think either of them were ever hot prospects to be honest. There was a lot of talk about Sokoudjou being awesome in the gym, and he got his shot in Pride through Dan Henderson. Other than those two shock KO's, he's done absolutely nothing. I wouldn't have put a penny on him beating either of those guys at the time, nor would I again. As for Huston, all he's done to date is beat Keith Jardine...'nuff said.

For real. Comment of the night for me was when he was talking about counting his record from when he started coming home drunk and smacking the wife around. "I can say that kind of thing in Texas". Shine wasn't as bad as it could have been, MFC 26 was good and Shark Fights was a quality show. Good weekend for little-league MMA. The problem Shark Fights will have is getting any kind of momentum going. Alexander vs Jardine is an option, but it's not really a headline fight after Keith lost again, *IF* they intend doing another PPV. Daley vs Saffiedine makes sense, but Paul is probably off to Strikeforce/Japan. Prangley vs Mike Kyle? Tim Sylvia vs Dave Herman...I dunno where they go from here. Hopefully they don't overextend themselves...if they can get a good thing going as a regional show that picks up the off UFC cast-off for 'get right fights', they could do well.