Well, if you thought Bellator 149’s madness was over, you were mistaken. Today, it was announced that Bellator stars Ken Shamrock and Kimbo Slice have both failed drug tests for banned substances.
The pre-fight drug test results have shown that both men have banned substances in their systems, and as such, both men have been suspended by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). Athletes at the Bellator 149 had urine samples collected before bouts. What follows shall now be an adjudication process. As of yet, the specific substances are unknown, as the TDLR is currently withholding that information due to potential pending litigation.
In Texas, the maximum punishment for failed drug tests is a $5,000 fine and a 90 day suspension.
But perhaps the two failing tests should come as no surprise considering their past comments on performance enhancing drugs.
On a pre-fight conference call in July of last year, Slice was cut off halfway through a rant on steroids, where he appeared to be proclaiming the benefits of using such substances.
“Listen, real fighters don’t give a damn about what another fighter has to do to get in shape or be prepared for the fight,” Slice on the call. “Really, I don’t[…]It’s like, “Dude, do whatever…” To anybody, do what you gotta do to be prepared. But, just show up 100%, ready to fucking rock and roll. I’m a fan of this sport, I’m a fan of any athletic sport. And if you as an athlete are training on a professional level… and no you can’t fucking just do the average shit, just to compete on this level. Fans want to see these guys, they want to see us perform and train. And we train hard and we beat our bodies up.”
For Shamrock, the fail is far from his first run in with steroid controversies. Failing a test in California in 2009, the UFC 1 veteran has spoken on the topic before, admitting his usage, although denying he’d used it ‘in the cage’.
“You know during my career,” Shamrock said on InsideMMA. “When I was fighting…I never entered into the ring while using steroids. I was never in the ring and fought with steroids. Never. But I have used steroids in the past. Because I have been involved with that, and how it can be used, I’ve seen other fighters have used it, I understand the trend, and it is a problem.”
Bellator 149 was the promotion’s biggest success in it’s history. It’s average viewership was just short of 2 million views, while Slice’s bout against Dada 5000 (real name Dhafir Harris) earned an average of 2.5 million viewers. Shamrock’s loss to Royce Gracie in the main event averaged 2.4 million.
Following the event, however, the promotion faced criticism about the level of athletes it was putting into the cage. Main eventers Shamrock and Gracie are 52 and 49 respectively. Slice is 42.
The biggest story to come out of the event though, was the near-death of co-main eventer Harris. Dada 5000 was taken into hospital after his fight with Slice (real name Kevin Ferguson), due to a reported heart failure and kidney failure.
Had Harris died, it would have undoubtedly been mixed martial arts highest profile tragedy. Had he have died, only for it to be found out that Slice was taking performance enhancing drugs, then the damage that could have been done to the sport could have potentially been irreparable.
Related Article: Dada 5000’s night in the hospital means freak show fights should be re-examined
While it was suspected that Shamrock wouldn’t appear for the promotion again, Slice was supposedly aiming for a summer return.
Want to give your comments about this article? You can either leave them here or you can join us on the Get More Sports Forum and talk about this article and many more! Brag about your favorite team, argue about an athlete’s performance or tell us about a game you saw. Join a new community of sports fans who live and breathe sports and sports entertainment. It’s free! Join now!
