The UFC 153 results for drug tests came back and it is not good news for everyone’s favorite The Ultimate Fighter. According to reports, Stephan Bonnar tested positive for an anabolic steroid when he fought Anderson Silva in October. Is anything sacred anymore?
[adinserter block=”2″]Bonnar tested positive for Drostanolone, an anabolic steroid. This is not Bonnar’s first positive test as a UFC fighter. Bonnar also tested positive for a Boldenone metabolite at UFC 62 when he fought Forrest Griffin. Bonnar owned up to the test at the time, citing the need to quickly recover from an injury.
What I find absolutely ironic about this story is it was just days before UFC 153 when Bonnar called for a ban on BleacherReport.com due to a negative story on Bonnar. Jonathon Snowden wrote a highly critical piece on Bonnar which called Bonnar a fraud, citing his past positive PED test as one of a number reasons. Bonnar took to Twitter after the story came out and called for the ban. The story was quickly pulled from BleacherReport.com and Snowden apologized. I believe it is Bonnar who now owes Snowden an apology and the fans who stuck up for him during this mess.
In another bit of irony, this makes four of Silva’s last ten opponents that have now tested positive for a PED. Even more crazy is that everyone who has fought Silva at light heavyweight in the UFC has tested positive for something. I don’t know what that means other than some odd kind of trivia note. While I am sure Bonnar will face some kind of suspension, it doesn’t matter since he has since announced his retirement.
It amazed me how quickly the UFC forgave Sonnen and put him back in the mix. The same will probably be said about how the UFC reacts to Bonnar. The UFC had more to lose with these two fights than maybe any other. Having the undefeated streak of arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all-time and biggest star on their roster ended by an opponent who knowingly used a PED could be devestating. The UFC and Silva would never be able to get that loss back yet the punished fighter will have the opportunity to get their license back at some point.
I think this certainly puts a big black mark on the legacy of Bonnar. Bonnar already had one infraction but it seemed that the entire MMA community forgave him for it. Bonnar quickly became one of the sport’s most popular fighters when he stepped up to fight Silva on short notice. Some called him a hero. I have to believe that Bonnar’s appeal and legacy will certainly take a hit here.
[adinserter block=”1″]The big question is how this will impact Bonnar’s UFC Hall of Fame eligibility? It is almost a guarantee that Bonnar will be going into the Hall of Fame. My hunch is that it won’t impact it at all. The UFC is very soft on PED offenders. Heck, several have gotten title shots with their first fight back. Until the UFC starts to take a harder stance on offenders, I don’t think Bonnar’s eligibility is impacted one bit.
Dave Herman was also busted for a marijuana metabolite. Most suspect that the UFC will cut him coming off of several losses and the positive test.
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