Speak now or forever hold your peace.

It's been a rough couple of months for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight number one contender Alistair Overeem, who was sued by his former management team, charged for bitch-slapping a casino patron and popped for elevated testosterone levels.

The lone bright spot for the embattled Dutch striker was his technical knockout victory at UFC 141 last December, one that sent former division champion Brock Lesnar into retirement back to the WWE.

His latest transgression, which came on the heels of a surprise drug test administered by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) -- and targeted a handful of competitors expected to compete at the UFC 146 pay-per-view (PPV) event on May 26 in Las Vegas -- flunked him for elevated levels of testosterone.

But there's still hope, as NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer explains to MMA Fighting, but Overeem must first respond to the commission's findings in order to go to "Plan B."

"Like with any drug test, if the B-sample comes back negative, then that trumps the A-sample, and he'd be eligible for licensure immediately. But if it comes back positive, or if he doesn't ask for it to be tested, that's something that can be used for grounds for denial. But that will be up to the commissioners."

It's been said that "no news is good news," but that doesn't apply here.

Until "Demolition Man" responds to the NSAC, his UFC 146 title fight against Junior dos Santos is on hold. That means UFC President Dana White and promotion matchmaker Joe Silva must now scramble to find a replacement should the worst-case scenario unfold.

Most of the usual suspects are getting their names thrown into the hat, including Frank Mir, who already competes on the "Sin City" card this May, as well as Fabricio Werdum and Shane Carwin. One writer (with a long history of head trauma) has suggested a surprise addition of famed Russian "Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko.

Until "The Reem" comes forward and asks to see his "B" sample, all we can do is speculate, but time is not on his side, as the UFC 146 card is just around the corner.

Tick...tick...tick...