MMAjunkie.com reports that mixed martial Chris Leben is penalized with a nine-month suspension due to failed doping test.

Leben’s promotion, the Ultimate Fighting Championships, handed down the suspension when the middleweight fighter tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol in a post-fight screening. Leben was also asked to pay a fine amounting to one-third of the payroll he received at the UFC 89 that took place in Birmingham, England.

Leben lost to English fighter Michael Bisping in said event through unanimous decision.

Leben stated: “I’ve really done everything I can to turn my life around, and this is a huge setback for me, but it is something I will have to deal with. During my time off from fighting, I want to speak to kids about the dangers of using performance enhancing agents and let them know it just doesn’t get you ahead in life. Of course this is a hard hit for me monetarily, but more so this is embarrassing for me and for all of my fans. I apologize to the UFC and everyone who supported me in my fight in England. I hope to work through this and get back to fighting soon.”

Meanwhile, UFC president Dana White said: “I am obviously disappointed with Chris, who has made great strides getting his life back on track. To his credit, he has taken responsibility for his actions and is accepting the punishment that has been handed down. But as always, the UFC puts the safety of its athletes first and foremost, and we won’t tolerate anyone using performance enhancing drugs in our organization.”

Leben is expected to return to the UFC July 2009.

More background info from MMAjunkie.com:

Leben had been scheduled to headline UFC 85 with Bisping in June, but the bout was postponed so that Leben could serve jail time for a previous DUI offense. He hoped jail time wouldn’t be issued and that the move would allow him to secure a visa for the event. However, Leben was sentenced to 35 days in the Clackamas County Jail in Oregon (though he was released early), and the fight was postponed.

Serving the jail time was part of what Leben called a maturation process that followed his move to Hawaii, where he now serves as an MMA instructor at the ICON Fitness and MMA Center. Prior to UFC 89, Leben, who appeared on “The Ultimate Fighter 1″ (with a few drunken rampages), also said he had quit drinking.

Stanozolol, commonly sold as Winstrol (oral) and Winstrol Depot (injectable) is a synthetic steroid derived from testosterone. It has been prescribed to treat diverse conditions in both human and animal patients. In humans, stanozolol is effective in treating anemia and hereditary angioedema. In animals, it is used in promoting muscle growth, appetite, and red blood cell production.

Other MMA fighters who tested positive for this steroid in the past include Phil Baroni, Tim Sylvia, and German-born Kimo Leopoldo.

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Tags: anabolic steroids, Chris Leben, Dana White, Michael Bisping, mixed martial arts, stanozolol, steroids, UFC, UFC 89, winstrol

Posted in Steroids and Anabolic Steroids, Steroids in MMA, Steroids in Sports, Steroids in UFC, steroid nation | No Comments/Questions

Evan Tanner, one of the standouts of the sport of mixed martial arts, is dead at 37.

Tanner’s body was found in the Palo Verde mountain area in California near the Arizona border in September 8. Authorities also found the site where Tanner was believed to have camped out. Tanner’s motorcycle was also discovered in the site.

The Imperial Country Sheriff’s office is not yet disclosing further details relating to the tragedy but according to published reports a deputy from the sheriff’s office discovered the body in the mountain’s Clapp Spring area. No official statement yet as to the cause and other circumstances surrounding Tanner’s death.

Tanner’s friends, however, provided some details. They said they last heard from him on Sept. 3, Wednesday, and it was on Saturday when a search was carried out. At that time temperature in the area soared to nearly 115 degrees. It was reported that the initial search efforts yielded no results.

Tanner was born in Amarillo, Texas and had shown interest in wrestling when he was in high school, winning titles during his junior and senior years. In 1997, he became a professional mixed martial artist and commenced on working for an impressive19-0 record. That had paved the way for him into the UFC promotion.

In 2001, Tanner earned his first title shot but was defeated by UFC light heavyweight champ Tito Ortiz in a decisive first-round knockout. For his next eight fights after dropping to the middleweight division, however, Tanner dished out stellar performances, scoring a 7-1 record. Then at UFC 51 in February 2005, Tanner triumphed over David Terrell via TKO for the UFC’s vacant 185-pound title. Tanner did not keep that title for long though as he was defeated four months later by Rich Franklin at UFC 53.

Subsequent to that defeat, Tanner fought two times more for the organization then took almost a two-year hiatus from the cage. He spent his time off putting up a charity to house and to train disadvantaged athletes, a cause he eventually dropped. It was also during that time, Tanner started to blog on his official website, openly writing about his recreational activities, which included his travels. He also posted about his battle with alcohol addiction. Tanner was known for veering away from corporate sponsorships, relying on his fan base to sponsor him directly.

In November 2007, Tanner announced that he was returning to competition as confirmed with his new four-fight deal with UFC.  Tanner was able to fulfill two of those bouts, but suffered losses in March and June to Yushin Okami and Kendall Grove respectively.

Prior to his bout with Grove, Tanner started to write an online journal at Spike.com with his final post dated Sept.2. His blog that day talked about his plan to train at the Compound MMA camp in Oceanside, Calif., as well as his surfing activity.

Tanner talked about his plan to camp out in the California desert in his Aug. 16 entry.
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“I’ve been gathering my gear for this adventure for over a month, not a long time by most standards, but far too long for my impatient nature.Being a minimalist by nature, wanting to carry only the essentials, and being extremely particular, it has been a little difficult to find just the right equipment. I plan on going so deep into the desert that any failure of my equipment could cost me my life.”

Tanner died with a professional record of 32-8 MMA, 12-5 UFC.

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Tags: Evan Tanner, Spike.com, Tito Ortiz, UFC

Posted in Steroids and Anabolic Steroids, Steroids in MMA, Steroids in Sports, Steroids in UFC, steroid nation | No Comments/Questions

During a conference call Tuesday, MMA observers witnessed a very confident Dana White. The UFC president is assuring MMA fans of  two things – the possibility of the Randy Couture-Fedor Emelianenko matchup and the security of his fight promotion vis-à-vis Affliction Entertainment.

White says the bout between MMA’s two most popular fighters is as close to a sure thing. UFC, he states, will just simply wait.

“Randy Couture’s going to fight November 15,” White said. “He’s going to fight Brock Lesnar in the biggest fight in UFC history. The rest of the heavyweight division will be figured out in December. I would be f—king horrified if Affliction is still in business by January. They’re going to burn a lot of cash in the next couple of months, believe me. Good luck to them and I’ll be sitting here waiting to see what happens.”

Things have recently patched up between Couture and UFC. “The Natural” recently signed a three-fight deal with the promotion. Emelianenko, meanwhile, has committed his services exclusively to Affliction Entertainment. But White is expecting an outcome favorable to UFC, confidently predicting the demise of the rival promotion.

“These guys are dying on the vine,” said White of Affliction. “They’ll be gone in a couple of months anyway and then Fedor will have to come here. Listen, you’re not under contract if the company isn’t in business anymore. We’ll figure it out.”

White’s promotion remains at the top of the industry’s echelon despite several attempts to displace its position. There was the International Fight League, which many had thought could go head-to-head with UFC, but only ran for 23 events and incurred $36 million debt, reports say. Pro Elite, parent company of several fight promotions including EliteXC and King of the Cage, is reportedly suffering the same fate as did IFL.

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Tags: Affliction Entertainement, Brock Lesnar, Dana White, possibility of a Randy Couture-Fedor Emelianenko bout, UFC

Posted in Steroids and Anabolic Steroids, Steroids in MMA, Steroids in Sports, Steroids in UFC, steroid nation | No Comments/Questions

It looks like Randy Couture and the Ultimate Fighting Championship is finally patching things up.

It was reported that Couture, the UFC’s reigning heavyweight champion, could fight for the promotion by year’s end, an indication that their legal battle is reaching a resolution.

Couture’s future fight could be a part of an out-of-court settlement with UFC. One source close to the fighter said that the fight could be Couture’s ticket to walk away from the organization without legal entanglements.

It is unclear at this time, however, if UFC will be amenable to Couture’s concession.

The 45-year-old fighter resigned from UFC in October 2007 based on several issues. Apparently, Couture was dissatisfied with the treatment and compensation he received from the organization. Also, Couture has also some issues over UFC’s failure to sign Fedor Emelianenko, who was a free agent then. Couture had wanted to fight Emelianenko, the number one ranked heavyweight champion. Zuffa LLC, UFC’s parent company, believed that Couture has two more fights as per his fight contract.

In February this year, Couture signed a contract with HDNet Fights promotion, which later filed a suit against UFC in a Dallas district court to obtain a declaratory judgment regarding the contractual status of Couture, nicknamed “The Natural”. A Texas appeals court, however, decided in favor of Zuffa earlier this month. The court conditionally granted UFC’s request for a stay against the motion.

For those of you who don’t know, Randy Couture claims to the name, Randy “The Natural” Couture, but with his big head he’s obviously abusing human growth hormone (HGH). It’s easy for him to use a lot of HGH since there was to real testing for human growth hormone (HGH) for many years, and there is no real tests for HGH to this day. HGH testing is not like anabolic steroid testing.

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