Steroids Spoil Alistair Overeem UFC Debut, Brock Lesnar vs Frank Mir 3 at UFC 141?

Folks, this story is slowly starting to pick up speed in the MMA world, as it appears that Alistair Overeem will not be allowed to make his Octagon debut against Brock Lesnar at UFC 141 on December 30^th 2011. UFC 141: Lesnar vs Overeem, a fight to determine the No.1 contender in the heavyweight division, is scheduled to take place on the last Friday of the year in Las Vegas, Nevada’s MGM Grand Garden Arena.

According to the UFC 141 rumors, “The Demolition Man” appears to have had some sort of complication with the Nevada State Athletics Commission in regards to a pre-fight drug test. Although none of these reports have been confirmed, it is believed that The Reem’s failed drug test and subsequent removal from UFC 141 news could become public as early as this week.

The NSAC will be getting together today, Monday at 5 PM ET, to determine Overeem’s UFC 141 fate and an announcement could be made as early as Monday night. Luckily for the UFC, Frank Mir’s brutal submission victory over Minotauro Nogueira at UFC 140 could have helped setup a Lesnar vs Mir 3 matchup at UFC 141. After his destruction at UFC 100, Mir has gone 4-1 in his last five fights, including 4-bout win streak that has placed him in title contention once again.

During Saturday’s UFC 140 post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White did the best he could to squander Overeem’s failed drug test rumors. Denying the reports while stumbling through his words, White said: “Where does this s*** come from?” White asked. “As far as I know… unless you guys have heard… I mean, we usually find out immediately. When people are really hurt, I usually find out before you [the media] do.”

In spite of the boss disregarding the UFC 141 rumors as being false, Mir didn’t hesitate to throw his name into the mix. With Brock and Mir knotted up at one-win apiece, the rubber match might be something the UFC would be willing to out together when/if Overeem is ruled out of the main event with Brock.

“If of the rumors you’re hearing about are true, I wouldn’t mind having to step in for Overeem and taking on Brock,” Mir said. “ I’m pretty healthy and three weeks isn’t bad turnaround. I only fought a three-minute fight, so I’m feeling pretty good. My wife might not be happy about Christmas but, she can deal with it.”

Overeem testing positive for steroids would certainly be very damaging to his MMA career and his legacy, especially because of all the PED speculation through the years. For years many critics have contended that his decision to continue to fight oversees — in K1 and other smaller promotions — rather than joining the bigger shows has been because of this very same issue.

If reports are true, those theories would certainly have a lot more merit, especially taking into account that drug testing in the United States — as flawed as it is — is much more strict and less likely to be manipulated than those in Japan and other parts of the world, per se. We will follow this story very closely, but for now, don’t be surprised if Brock Lesnar vs Frank Mir 3 at UFC 141 eventually become the inevitable…

“This will likely be cleared up on Monday as Overeem is scheduled to apply for his license before the Nevada State Athletic Commission,” writes Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer. “Overeem, Keith Jardine and Vladimir Matyushenko all have license hearings on Monday. Overeem’s name on the list means there is a reason he needs to be there that is not specified. … Regarding a steroid test, we’ve been able to confirm that Lesnar was asked to take a test a few weeks back and did.

“It is usual practice in Nevada if they are going to do a random unannounced pre-fight test of a major main event, they will test both fighters. Several major MMA reporters… have hinted something is amiss and there were strong rumors [Saturday at UFC 140] that Mir would face Lesnar, even though White denied them. If it regards a pending hearing that hasn’t happened, while behind the scenes White would no doubt be preparing for any outcome, he has to publicly say the fight is on, because right now, the fight is on.”

Read updates on UFC 141: Brock Lesnar vs Alistair Overeem here!