NSAC denies Alistair Overeem fight license for period of nine months

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight Alistair Overeem appeared in front of the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) today (April 24, 2012) to answer for a failed drug test administered back on March 27 in advance of the UFC 146 pay-per-view (PPV) event on May 26 in Las Vegas.

"Demolition Man" returned a testosterone-to-epitestosterone (T/E) level of 14:1, which he subsequently blamed on anti-inflammatory medication -- not performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) -- but it didn't stop the UFC from pulling him from his upcoming bout against Junior dos Santos and replacing him with former 265-pound champion Frank Mir.

It turned out to be the right call.

Overeem came into today's hearing saddled with the burden of proving that he was indeed the victim of bad medicine -- not bad intentions -- and requested a continuance from the NSAC to help his team prepare its case and "demonstrate Alistair's intent."

Request denied.

After a brief deliberation, the commission determined they had all the information they needed to proceed, and Overeem's doctor, who was also in attendance (and the mad scientist behind his recovery medication) only reinforced its decision to move forward.

The crux of the Dutchman's defense was his failure to understand the contents in the injections of anti-inflammatory medication (mixed with testosterone) he was receiving -- and injecting himself -- to help expedite the healing process for an injured rib.

Unfortunately his doctor, who is a male performance-enhancement expert, was popped in 2004 for dealing controlled substances over the Internet.

Not a lot of due diligence performed by Team Reem, or so it would seem.

Ultimately, the commission did not believe Overeem was trying to gain a competitive advantage inside the combat sports arena, but his ignorance of what he was putting into his body, regardless of how it was administered or by who, was simply too great to overlook, thus forcing a ruling against him.

Overeem is now ineligible to apply for a license to fight in the state of Nevada for a period of nine months, retroactive to March 27, the date of his failed drug test.

And he is expected to honor that ruling in any other state or International territory.

What do you think Maniacs, are you satisfied with the result? Too harsh? Too lenient? Let's get some initial reactions in the comments section below and be sure to stay tuned to MMAmania.com for ongoing updates to this story as they develop.

See how it all went down right here.