In a unanimous vote, the Nevada Commission opted to deny Overeem his fight license, but instead of the normal one-year ban before he could re-apply, they lessened the sentence down to nine months.

Overeem made his case that following a series of injuries sustained before and after his Strikeforce bout against Fabricio Werdum in 2011, followed by his fight against Brock Lesnar at UFC 141 in December 2011, he needed additional medical treatment.

While on a press tour that first stopped in Texas, Overeem received the name of Dr. Hector Molina from former UFC fighter Tre Telligman, who suggested the Dutch fighter see the physician about his nagging injuries.

After an examination, Dr. Molina prescribed Overeem with a “cocktail” mixture of drugs, one of which was a substance that increased testosterone levels. Molina stated he did not disclose the particular drug’s side effects to Overeem when he administered the injection to help a rib injury that was causing him a great deal of pain.

During the hearing, Dr. Molina, who was present along with Overeem, seemed to stumble and fumble over his words as he tried to explain the drugs given to the UFC heavyweight. As Dr. Molina revealed, the four parts of the cocktail given to Overeem included Vitamin B-12, Dexamethasone, Toradol, and an aqueous form of testosterone.

Dexamethasone is a steroid drug used as an anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressant, while Toradol is another anti-inflammatory drug as well. Molina stated that he has worked with many pro athletes including professional baseball and hockey players.

Ultimately the argument by Overeem’s defense counsel was that he was taking a drug given to him by a physician that was prescribed as a pain medication, but in no way was being taken as a performance enhancing drug.

After a brief deliberation, the commission suggested a reduced sentence along with the denial of a fight license. Normally, if the commission denies a fight license, a fighter cannot re-apply in the state for one year.

In this case, the commission opted to lessen the time period down to nine months from the date of the testing, which happened on March 27, and after that time Overeem would be allowed to apply for a license again. Also as part of the agreement, Overeem will not be eligible to take a fight in another state or other location.

The commission voted unanimously and now Overeem will not be able to re-apply for a fight license in the state of Nevada until after Dec. 27, 2012. The UFC has already stated they would not use Overeem in any fight in any other area if he were denied a license by Nevada.

(Source: mmaweekly.com)

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The 185-pound standout today announced the news via Twitter.

UFC president Dana White had expressed interest in the Cuban-Australian fighter, who recently fulfilled the terms of his Bellator contract after an 8-0 stint in the organization that’s part of an overall 24-0-1 run in his past 25 outings.

Lombard didn’t disclosed a debut date or opponent, and UFC officials haven’t formally announced his signing. However, Bellator was in a matching period with the fighter, and according to MMAFighting.com, Bellator CEO and Chairman declined to match a lucrative UFC deal that includes pay-per-view bonuses for Lombard. (Only the UFC’s top talent gets such PPV deals.)

(Source: mmajunkie.com)

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Powerhouse middleweight wrestlers Chris “All American” Weidman and Mark “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Munoz will battle in the five-round main event of UFC on FUEL TV, the just-announced July 11 fight night. The news was announced on the April 24 edition of FUEL TV’s UFC Tonight.

(Source: bloodyelbow.com)

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“I think I could beat anybody in the division right now,” MacDonald told Sid Seixeiro on Sportsnet 590 The Fan on Tuesday. “I know my skill level.”

MacDonald (13-1) believes he is a top-10, arguably a top-five, welterweight in the UFC and credits training at the Tristar gym in Montreal for his development as a fighter.

“I’ve evolved so much, added so many tools to my game,” MacDonald said. “I feel like I’ve put so many things in my game that I can be aggressive but technical at the same time.”

(Source: sportsnet.ca)

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UFC President Dana White convened a press conference in Rio this morning, breaking the news alongside middleweight champion Silva and #1 contender Sonnen. White said he wanted to secure a soccer stadium in either Sao Paulo or Rio de Janiero for UFC 147, with Silva vs. Sonnen headlining, but that “everything that could go wrong, went wrong.” That included a United Nations conference being scheduled in Rio during the weekend UFC 147 was originally scheduled for, creating an insurmountable logistical nightmare for the promotion.

Silva vs. Sonnen II will now be moved to UFC 148 on July 7th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Vegas. UFC 147 will still take place in Brazil, though White said a venue has yet to be secured. The event is scheduled to feature the rematch between Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva, as well as the middleweight and featherweight finals of TUF Brazil. White said that the UFC is also working on moving Jose Aldo to that card from his UFC 149 engagement, against an opponent to be named later.

(Source: cagepotato.com)

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“[Jones'] hands are sore, you know, all the things that go along with coming out of a fight like that. We got to give them a few weeks to see how he feels and we’ll figure out what the main event is in Calgary,” White stated. “But that would be awesome. If we could make that fight, that would be great.”

(Source: 5thround.com)

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UFC president Dana White announced late Friday night that Overeem has been pulled from the main event of UFC 146, and Frank Mir (16-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) will now face Junior Dos Santos (14-1 MMA, 8-0 UFC) for the UFC heavyweight title.

Mir was originally expected to face Cain Velasquez (9-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC). White did not immediately reveal if Velasquez will receive a new opponent.

Dos Santos, of course, was slated to face former Strikeforce champion Overeem in the main event of UFC 146, which takes place May 26 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. However, a recent pre-fight drug test that flagged Overeem for elevated levels of testosterone left his licensing status in doubt.

Overeem is scheduled to appear in front of the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Tuesday in an effort to gain licensure. His camp has yet to reveal exactly what their defense will be in front of the commission, but UFC officials have apparently decided to move forward now.

(Source: mmajunkie.com)

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In the main event of the evening, Alvarez looked to avenge one of his previous three defeats when he met Japanese grappling sensation Shinya Aoki in one of the most high profile lightweight fights of the year. Almost immediately, Alvarez came out looking for the finish. After Aoki threw a left hand, Alvarez countered with a beautiful right that dropped the Japanese submission specialist. Seeing that Aoki was hurt, Alvarez dived in and unloaded vicious strikes until referee Jerry Krzys stepped in to stop the fight at 2:14 of the first round.

With the win, Alvarez improved his record to 23-3 and avenged the submission loss to Aoki over three years ago. Aoki, who loses for the sixth time in his career, dropped his first contest since 2010.

(Source: mmaweekly.com)

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Fighters such as Bobby Lashley and Rolles Gracie previously were rumored for the slot, but it’ll instead go to 37-year-old Rizzo.
The June 21 event, which is expected to be an M-1 show, takes place at the Ice Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. It’ll likely air on pay-per-view.

Emelianenko recently competed overseas, where he picked up victories over Jeff Monson and Satoshi Ishii in late 2011.
Rizzo made his MMA debut nearly 16 years ago. The Brazilian now returns to the cage after a two-year layoff. Most recently, he picked up a pair of TKO victories over Gary Goodridge and Ken Shamrock in 2010.

(Source: mmajunkie.com)

(Source: mmafighting.com)