LAS VEGAS – For now, at least, former Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem (35-11 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will face Brock Lesnar (5-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in the main event of December's UFC 141 event.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission today granted Overeem a conditional license to face Lesnar on Dec. 30, subject to a pre-fight drug test to be submitted in Europe within the next 72 hours, as well as an additional screen submitted in the U.S. when the Dutch heavyweight arrives for the contest.
Overeem's conditional license also includes two post-fight drug screen orders, to be completed less than six months after the bout.
The decision was made during Monday's Nevada State Athletic Commission monthly meeting, which took place at the Grant Sawyer State Office Building in Las Vegas.
Overeem's status for the bout was in doubt after he failed to comply with out-of-competition testing ordered by the NSAC on Nov. 17.
Both Overeem and Lesnar were asked to submit screens, and Lesnar did so on Nov. 21. Overeem followed suit on Nov. 23, but the collected screen did not meet the commission's standards. A second test was submitted to Overeem's personal physician ("a sports doctor," according to the fighter) on Dec. 7, but the results of the screen have yet to be determined, and the NSAC admitted some doubt as to whether the sample had even been collected.
"When I got the request to test myself, I took the test straight away," Overeem, who is currently in his native Holland, tending to his ailing mother, told the commission via phone. "I went to the doctor, and he had me steroid tested. I went in for the results, which took 10 days. When I finally got the results, I submitted them, and I thought that that should be sufficient for the commission. But after a couple of days, I received notice that it was not sufficient, and I needed to do more testing. So I went back to the doctor straight away and I had my second test done with the full parameters that was provided by the NSAC, and that was taken last Wednesday, Dec. 7. The results of the test are due seven to 10 days from Dec. 7, so I'm expecting them this week."
The commission ultimately placed much of the blame for the testing delays on Overeem's assistant, Collin Lam (who admitted having no prior experience in assisting a professional athlete), who they believe exhibited a faulty sense of urgency in relaying their requests on to his client. The commissioners all expressed their belief that Overeem was being honest during his time under oath.
Overeem felt the differences in testing procedures in the U.S. and Holland were largely to blame for the issues that will ultimately delay his out-of-competition screen by nearly a full month.
"In Holland, you go to the doctor to request a test, and then you get permission to go to a facility, or the doctor can take your specimen for you," Overeem said. "Because that was not a full panel test, which I learned (later) because it was the first time I ever went through this procedure, we had to look for other options. Because this is the first time I've done this; I've never done a full panel steroid test in Holland, and the doctors here also did not know where we could do that. So my doctor made some calls and researched the subject. We found that we could do the testing in Germany in a laboratory, and there also it seems there were some complications.
"In Europe, a drug testing cannot be done by an athlete himself. It has to be requested by an organization. So for me, it's pretty hard to test myself here, and I've learned by going through this procedure because I've never gone through this procedure before."
Overeem, who has competed in professional MMA since 2000, has never tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug. However, his hulking frame has brought with it a rash of rumors and accusations.
"I did not make any efforts to avoid any testing, and furthermore, I have done exactly what I've been told to do by my assistants, who've been told what to do by [NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer]," Overeem said.
Earlier this year, the NSAC was forced to scrap its random drug-testing procedures due to a lack of funding. However, Senate Bill No. 498, which passed earlier this month, provided additional revenue for the NSAC's testing program through an adjustment in promoter taxes.
The commission resumed out-of-competition testing on July 1, and NSAC executive director Keith Kizer today revealed that more than 50 mixed martial artists have been subjected to the screens thus far. None have encountered the same type of delays.
Overeem, of course, was released from Strikeforce in late July following a conflict with UFC and Strikeforce officials regarding his ability to compete in a Sept. 10 bout with Antonio Silva. His Golden Glory teammates Marloes Coenen, Jon Olav Einemo and Valentijn Overeem were released shortly after, and UFC president Dana White pointed to the team's wishes for paycheck to be issued directly to management as the cause for the move.
White and Golden Glory officials ultimately worked out their differences, but the Dutch heavyweight recently revealed parted ways with his longtime management team, anyway.
During Monday's meeting, the UFC's Vladmir Matyushenko and Strikeforce's Keith Jardine were also granted a license to fight in Nevada.
Source: Alistair Overeem granted conditional license for UFC 141, facing four drug tests