Post your mug.

Post your mug.

again, I'll start.

Here I am working in Alaska

in Utah about 5 years ago.

And in DC a couple of years ago.

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Ask the Fight Doc: What do you make of Thiago Silva's failed drug test?

Ask the Fight Doc: What do you make of Thiago Silva's failed drug test?

Following his UFC 125 win and a failed drug test due to a "urine adulterant," Thiago Silva fessed up and admitted to breaking the Nevada State Athletic Commission's rules.

According to Silva, he opted to take injections of banned substances into his injured back and spine so he didn't have to pull out of the fight.

But if true, MMAjunkie.com medical columnist Dr. Johnny Benjamin – a fellowship-trained spine surgeon – said such procedures could have had fatal consequences.

* * * *

"I reinjured my back 45 days before the fight with Brandon Vera. After not fighting for a year, I made the decision to not pull out of the fight. I also decided that the only way I could continue with the fight was to take injections in my back and spine that contained substances prohibited by the Nevada (State) Athletic Commission. I also made the decision to use a product to hide the presence of these substances in a urine test." – Thiago Silva to MMAjunkie.com

As a fellowship-trained spine surgeon, I know a thing or two about back injuries and the treatment options. I appreciate Thiago Silva publicly accepting his mistake and attempting to move forward on a more honorable path.

But his statements are very interesting to me.

Epidural steroid injections (ESIs) are a very common and very legal treatment for certain back injuries. With the use of X-ray guidance, a specially trained physician carefully injects a combination of corticosteroid (not a prohibited substance vs. anabolic steroids, which are prohibited) and a short-acting anesthetic (lidocaine) into the spinal canal, specifically the epidural space.

The idea is to treat the inflamed nerve root with the proper medication in hopes of significantly relieving leg (sciatica) and back pain. In the proper hands – in properly selected patients and in a proper setting with the proper equipment – ESIs are very safe and effective.

So the questions that come to my medically trained mind are:

•What banned substances were injected into his "back and spine" prior his UFC 125 win over Brandon Vera?
•What specialty of physician performed the procedure?
•In what setting and with what equipment?
•Does Silva have any idea of the risks he took with his life if he had an anabolic steroid, HGH or some other banned substance injected into his spinal canal?
FYI: There is no medically accepted, evidence-based literature supporting the injection of anabolic steroids or HGH into the epidural space (spinal canal). In the U.S., to do so clearly would be considered rampant malpractice.

A potential infection in the spinal canal from an injection gone wrong can cause an epidural abscess or meningitis. Bacterial meningitis is often fatal (if not merely crippling), brain damaging and/or permanently life-altering. A mishap with the injection due to improper training (and I question the training and integrity of any doctor that may have done this) or equipment is fraught with devastating consequences.

Also, anabolic steroids and HGH are packaged with preservatives that allow a vial to hold multiple injections. These preservatives should not be injected into the spine because they can permanently damage nerve roots. (That's the reason it takes 14 years to become a spine surgeon; there's a lot of stuff to learn.)

I pray that Silva's official statement is his well-worded (and in his mind, excusable) explanation for just regular, garden-variety cheating (i.e. "I got caught attempting to mask my injection of anabolic steroids and/or HGH into my butt trying to help heal or recover from a training injury").

If, in fact, my suspicions/concerns are warranted, state athletic commissions, WADA, USADA, the UFC and especially fighters need to be very, very alarmed. A disaster is looming.

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MMA Crypt Event Pool XXV - Bellator 39

MMA Crypt Event Pool XXV - Bellator 39

MMA Crypt Event Pool XXV - Bellator 39

Date: April 2nd, 2011
Location: Uncansville, CT
Venue: Mohegun Sun Arena
Broadcast: MTV 2
Broadcast Time: 9:00 PM ET

We are betting all the fights from this point on.

Main Card:

Bellator Lightweight Championship Bout:
Eddie Alvarez (c) (21-2-0) vs. Pat Curran (12-3-0)

Welterweight Semi Final Bout:
Lyman Good (11-1-0) vs. Rick Hawn (10-1-0)

Lightweight Semi Final Bout:
Patricky Freire (8-1-0) vs. Toby Imada (29-15-0)

Welterweight Bout:
Ben Saunders (9-3-2) vs. Matt Lee (13-9-1)

********************************

Rules & Payouts:

1) This pool requires that you pick a fighter to win for each fight.

2) If 2 players are tied for 1st Place, they will split the 1st & 2nd Place awards, leaving only the 3rd Place award for any other player or players in 3rd Place.

3) If 3 or more players are tied for 1st Place, they will split the 1st, 2nd & 3rd Place awards, and there will be no 2nd or 3rd place winner.

4) The pool closes April 2nd, 2011 at 9:00PM East Coast time.

Enter Here

Prizes:

1st Place: 20,000
2nd Place: 10,000
3rd Place: 5,000

Good luck everyone

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Eddie Alvarez Comments On His Pay And UFC

Eddie Alvarez Comments On His Pay And UFC

"I want to be someone so I have some sort of leverage. I don't want to be the next disposable 155-pounder who can be thrown out the window if he has a loss or two. I want to make myself indispensable and make a name for myself before I ever negotiate with a company like [the UFC]... I'm one of the top paid 155ers in the world. I don't know if anybody knows that, but now you do... I can't tell my three kids, 'Hey, daddy's going to take a shot and take a risk and take a paycut and hopefully I make it. It's got to be more than that for me. I got to secure myself and secure my family... I'm going to do the right thing to become No. 1. That's one of my main concern, but it's also to protect my financial security with my family too."

In an interesting quote pulled from mmafighting.com's "The MMA Hour" current Bellator champion, Eddie Alvarez, gives us some rare insight into his thoughts and decision making process. While he remains one of the lone top 10 fighters not signed by ZUFFA he has opted to stick it out with his divisional home of Bellator instead of gain more main stream acceptance and test himself against the best fighters in the world.

In fighting, it appears there are two schools of thought. 1: Fight for the money or 2: Fight for the challenge. It appears that "Mr. Bellator" has opted for option one, which you can't blame him for. It will be interesting to see what his base salary from Bellator actually is and maybe one day they will put on a fight in a disclosure state that will require the release of paydays to fighters. Until that time comes, we can only take Eddie's word for it, that he is indeed one of the top paid guys in his division.

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Jon Fitch Out of UFC 132 Rematch With BJ Penn

Jon Fitch Out of UFC 132 Rematch With BJ Penn

Still 13 weeks out from his rematch with BJ Penn at UFC 132, Jon Fitch has pulled out of the fight due to a training injury.

Sources close to the UFC confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Wednesday. Word of Fitch's withdrawal from the bout was first reported by MMA Weekly.

There is no word yet on a possible replacement for Fitch. The fight was expected to determine the top contender for the UFC welterweight title currently held by Georges St-Pierre.

Though sources could not confirm to MMA Fighting the nature of Fitch's injury, ESPN reported Wednesday it involved the welterweight's shoulder.

Fitch (23-3-1, 1 NC, 13-1-1 UFC) and Penn (16-7-2, 12-6-2 UFC) fought to a majority draw at UFC 127 in Sydney last month when two judges scored the fight 28-28, giving Penn the first and second rounds, and a 10-8 to Fitch in the third. One judge scored the fight 29-28 in favor of Fitch.

The UFC announced the rematch for its July 2 card in Las Vegas less than two weeks ago. It was expected to serve as the co-main event on a card that now features a bantamweight title fight between champion Dominick Cruz and challenger Urijah Faber.

The draw with Penn snapped a five-fight winning streak for Fitch, who hadn't lost since a title fight decision setback against St-Pierre at UFC 87 in August 2008. He went on to five straight decision wins after that.

Penn returned to the welterweight division in November, scoring a 21-second knockout of former champion Matt Hughes at UFC 123. His move to 170 pounds, where he once held the title before vacating it in a contract dispute, followed back-to-back losses at lightweight to Frankie Edgar. The first, at UFC 112 last April, cost him his lightweight title, which he won at UFC 80 and defended three times. He lost the rematch, at UFC 118, as well.

Internet speculation began quickly after word of Fitch's injury was out regarding a possible replacement opponent for Penn, and Carlos Condit took to Twitter saying it's a fight he would like. "It would be an honor to fight a legend like BJ Penn, one of my favorite fighters ever. If the call comes, I would take the fight in a second," Condit said. Condit has won three straight, but hasn't fought since a UFC 120 knockout of Dan Hardy. He was scheduled to face Chris Lytle at UFC 127 in February, but had to pull out of that fight with an injury of his own.

But UFC officials told MMA Fighting no decision has been made regarding Penn on the UFC 132 card with a potential new opponent, or if he will wait to face a healthy Fitch at a later event.

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Thiago Silva admits to use of a banned substance

Just one day after the NSAC officially issued a temporary suspension of Thiago Silva for his UFC 125 urine sample being "inconsistent with human urine", Silva has issued a statement admitting the use of a banned substance, as well as the use of an "adulterant" to falsify the results. In a statement given to MMAJunkie.com, Silva stated

"We make decisions every day of our lives," Silva stated. "Some are good and some are bad. When you make a bad decision, you can either make the situation worse by trying to cover it up or lie about it or just stick your head in the sand and refuse to acknowledge it even happened, or you can own up to it with an honest explanation, accept the consequences of your actions, apologize to the people affected by it, learn from it and move on. I'm choosing the second option."

"I used a urine adulterant when giving a sample following my fight with Brandon Vera," Silva said. "I did so in an attempt to alter the results of the test and knowingly broke the rules of the Nevada Athletic Commission. This was a terrible decision on my part for which I will be punished. I am prepared to accept this punishment, learn from it and move on. I apologize to the Commission, the UFC, Brandon Vera and the MMA fans."

Silva's "A" sample for his pre-fight drug screening at UFC 125: Edgar vs. Maynard, was under investigation by the NSAC as further testing on his "B" sample was done. Silva stated that he didn't want to offer an excuse, but would rather try to explain his actions and the decisions he made.

"I do want to explain the circumstances behind my actions," Silva said. "Please do not interpret this as an attempt to justify my actions. I know they were wrong and I know I made bad decisions and I know I deserve to be punished. That is why I began my statement with an admission and an apology before going into these details. This is not an excuse, only an explanation.

"I had been tested on five prior occasions while fighting for the UFC before the Brandon Vera fight. Four of the tests were urine only, and one included a blood sample, as well in New Jersey the day before the fight. I passed each of those tests. I suffered a severe back injury shortly before the (January 2010) Rashad Evans fight. It was the biggest fight of my career and there was no way I was going to pull out of it. I fought and lost and was out of action for a year rehabilitating the injury and getting ready to fight again.

"I re-injured my back 45 days before the fight with Brandon Vera. After not fighting for a year, I made the decision to not pull out of the fight. I also decided that the only way I could continue with the fight was to take injections in my back and spine that contained substances prohibited by the Nevada Athletic Commission. I also made the decision to use a product to hide the presence of these substances in a urine test."

Silva further explained that he acted alone, and that no one other than himself had knowledge of his use of a banned substance, or his attempt to cover it up.

"These decisions were mine and mine alone," Silva said. "I did not share this information with anyone prior to the fight for fear that I would not be allowed to fight. I obviously made a terrible decision. I have since learned that it may have even been possible to fight had I been open and honest and disclosed the injury and treatment prior to the fight. I also realize that not being allowed to fight as a result of the treatment would have been a better result than the mess into which I have now gotten myself.

"Again, I take full responsibility for making the decision to break the rules and try to cheat the system. I will accept the punishment I receive and will learn from this. I plan to come back as a better person and professional as a result."

Thiago Silva's case is set to go before the Nevada State Athletic Commission on April 7th.

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Arianny Celeste is Good in a Threesome, kinda NSFW

We all recall the dynamic Octagon Girl duo that kicked off our interest in the UFC promotion, Amber Nicole and Rachelle Leah. But somewhere along the way, Nicole dropped off and we got this threesome:

Rachelle Leah, Arianny Celeste, Ali Sonoma

Then we sadly lost Leah to television hosting gigs and for some brief period that I don’t even recall, we got this threesome:

Anne Rivera, Arianny Celeste, Ali Sonoma

The rest of the pictures are here mmacrypt.com

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