Overeem’s UFC Future in Limbo; White Not Optimistic About Upcoming Hearing
Posted on 22 April 2012 Bleacherreport
Former K-1, Strikeforce and Dream champion Alistair Overeem is in an uphill battle after having a drug test come back indicating how his testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio was at 14:1, well above the 6:1 limit the Nevada State Athletic Commission allows athletes.
Overeem’s unusually high t/e ratio has produced much controversy in the media and has angered UFC president Dana White immensely. The day that Overeem drug test result was made public, White was livid.
His anger hasn’t seemed to fade. Following Saturday night’s UFC 145 post-fight press conference, White said, “I have not and I will not (talk to Overeem about the drug test),” after last week saying he didn’t want to talk about it even with reporters, presumably for fear of not being able to keep his emotions in check.
On Friday this week, White announced on twitter that former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir would replace Overeem. The boss has a business to run and wasn’t about to wait around when he wasn’t too confident in Overeem’s chances of pleading his case before the athletic commission on Tuesday.
“We were right up on deadlines for a lot of things we needed to do to promote a pay-per-view and I’m not very optimistic on Tuesday,” White said.
Overeem’s chances of being licensed by the commission don’t look promising, and losing his title shot is another fatal blow to his career right now, but White isn’t going to risk a title fight on the outcome of his hearing.
While White said, “I do business with Tito; I think I can do business with Alistair,” he wasn’t definitive about Overeem’s future with the UFC.
When asked if the statement about Tito Ortiz meant that Overeem was not in danger of being cut from the roster, White would only say, “I don’t know. We’ll see what happens man.”...........