UFC's Alistair Overeem officially denied license by NSAC, cannot reapply for nine months

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The UFC made the right call in pulling Alistair Overeem from UFC 146. The Nevada State Athletic Commission denied him a license on Tuesday following a lengthy hearing, which went forward after the commission denied Overeem's request for a continuance.

The crux of Overeem's case was that his doctor, a Hector Molina out of Texas, prescribed him an injectable cocktail in January to deal with several injuries sustained over the last year, and that he took two injections without knowing that there was testosterone included in the mixture.

However, the credibility of Molina was very much in question, as his testimony during the hearing was a jumbled mess of misremembering, contradicting statements, and a general lack of clarity. Additionally, there was an issue regarding the date of the test, as Overeem initially got in a vehicle and left after the UFC 146 press conference despite his camp being told he needed to remain there to be tested. He was tracked down by the UFC finally and administered his test.

He claimed he was leaving the press conference to avoid being served legal documents by Golden Glory representatives, though that story is in dispute as well, as the time stamp for the papers served that day may be prior to his claim.

Despite an admission that he injected this substance that did contain testosterone, the Commission ultimately opted not to make him wait the entire year before being able to reapply after denying his license application. Instead, they backdated the date of the application to the date of his failed drug test, March 27, and will allow him to apply for a license again after only nine months from that date.

Penick's Analysis: The commission failed to send the correct message by shortening the time period for Overeem. There was no evidence presented that exonerates him from taking a banned substance, and the testimony of his "doctor" was ridiculous at best. Molina has a lot of shadiness behind him, from a domestic assault arrest, to botched medical procedures, illegally prescribing medications, and more, and yet they essentially gave Overeem a slap on the wrist. He's been removed from the UFC 146 event, yes, but this nine-month backdating to March technically means he could fight by the UFC's year-end event, though the license application couldn't be approved until a day or two before he would fight. Overeem's story is a complete farce, and the commission failed to call him out on it on Tuesday to the extent they could have. Still, Overeem will not be able to fight for almost the entirety of 2012, and the UFC will not be happy with him over the entire situation.

[Alistair Overeem art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]

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