Dana White: UFC 146 title fight will happen no matter what

On Thursday, Dana White announced that the Heavyweight title fight will take place at UFC 146 on May 26, 2012, regardless of Alistair Overeem‘s participation. Junior dos Santos, as expected, will defend his belt against an unnamed opponent. It will be entirely in the hands of the Nevada State Athletic Commission to decide if Overeem will be able to fight, but at this point, his licensing status is up in the air. Overeem has been oft-criticized for his possible usage of performance-enhancing drugs, but has not failed any specific drug test up until the March 27 sample in question.

Overeem will have his b-sample tested for clarification, however, it appears that many of Dana White‘s fears concerning the former Strikeforce champion have been confirmed. Keith Kizer of the NSAC has explained this next step in the testing and licensing process, and also that Overeem had tested abnormally high for T/E levels, at a ratio of 14:1 to that of a normal human male.

Much has been made concerning this last week’s developments, but a title contender has not been named to replace Overeem. Perhaps the UFC is awaiting the concrete results of the second test and subsequent hearing. With rumors swirling around that Frank Mir will have another shot at the belt, speculation runs rampant as other possible contenders like Fabricio Werdum and Mark Hunt await the announcement. Dos Santos has made it clear that he is not a proponent of steroids or any performance-enhancing drugs, and has become champion naturally. We will wait and see who will be the next challenger for his UFC Heavyweight title. – Credit: msnbc.com

Further Reading: Alistair Overeem’s Testosterone levels at 14:1; more that double NSAC limit

Photo: Francis Specker