Next week's UFC 141 main event will remain intact.
After issues with a recent Nevada State Athletic Commission-mandated drug test, Alistair Overeem (35-11 MMA, 0-0 UFC) finally has taken and passed a test and been cleared to compete against Brock Lesnar (5-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC).
UFC president Dana White first hinted at the news today via Twitter, and an official later confirmed the passed test with MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com).
"Overeem is ready to go!!!" White tweeted. "Lesnar vs Overeem is on!"
"UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem" takes place next Friday, Dec. 29, at Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena. The main card airs on pay-per-view, and prelims air on Spike TV and stream on Facebook.
The five-round non-title fight, which will determine a No. 1 contender in the UFC's heavyweight division, was thrown into doubt this past week when Overeem missed an out-of-competition test the commission ordered him to undergo on Nov. 17. As it turned out, NSAC executive director Keith Kizer notified Overeem of the test the same day the fighter flew to Holland to attend to his mother, who is dealing with a possible cancer relapse.
As part of a conditional license that was issued on Dec. 12, Overeem was required to fly to London on Dec. 13 for a drug test at at a facility affiliated with Quest Diagnostics, which the NSAC often uses for drug tests conducted in Nevada. The results came back clean today.
In addition to two pre-fight tests for performance-enhancers, Overeem will be tested on fight night for performance-enhancers and drugs of abuse (per NSAC guidelines). Additionally, as part of the conditional license, he'll also be subject to two random tests taken at his expense within six months after the fight.
Upon initially hearing of the out-of-competition test requested by the NSAC, Overeem took a steroid test administered by his personal doctor on Nov. 23, which came back clean. However, it was a blood test, and the commission requires a urine test. Two weeks later, he submitted urine to his doctor that was shipped to a lab in Germany.
A commission meeting held this past week in Las Vegas made clear the circumstances of Overeem's case were unfamiliar territory for the NSAC, which reinstated out-of-competition testing in July after budgetary issues forced it to shut down the program this past year. Nevertheless, Kizer said future cases will be handled on a case-by-case basis and speculated that major changes to the commission's policies regarding out-of-competition testing are unlikely beyond formalizing the notification of tests.
Although he's never failed a drug test, Overeem has been a frequent source of speculation. He spent much of his career in Japan, where little if any testing was done. However, he's competed in the U.S. for the past two years (first with Strikeforce and now with the UFC), and all of his tests have come back clean.
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