For the first time, UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie has spoken on video about his alleged steroid use, claiming that he has no idea on where the positive result came from. In his UFC career, Gracie is known for defeating much bigger opponents, and often taunted them for bulking up with steroid. So Gracie’s positive result came as a surprise to the sport. It was in June 14, 2007 when the California State Athletic Commission disclosed that Gracie tested positive for Nandrolone, an anabolic steroid, after his victory over Kazushi Sakuraba. In his defense, Gracie said that he has “no idea what they are talking about. Look at my first fight in the UFC, I weighed 178 pounds, look at my last fight, 180. I gained two pounds.”

In his statement, refutes the test by saying that his diet and attitude towards his training are incomparable with performance-enhancing drugs. He also added that “it’s ridiculous.”If you saw what I eat, I could live on fruits, I eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner.” A healthy diet and proper training and exercise do not negate the test results though it seem to be a particular temptation among older athletes especially those engaged in sports that are physically demanding to use performance-enhancing drugs.

According to the California State Athletic Commission, an average person can produce about 2 ng/mL of Nandrolone, while an athlete with hard training and rigorous exercise can have an approximate level of 6 ng/mL. Both of Gracie’s A and B test samples revealed that he had a level of over 50 ng/mL and the commission were informed that the level itself was “so elevated” that it would not register on the laboratory’s calibrator. Because of the result, Gracie was fined $2,500, which is the maximum penalty that CSAC can impose. He was also suspended for the remainder of his license, which ended May of last year.

Bill Douglas of the CSAC commented on Gracie’s result and told the MMA Weekly, “Currently, our rules do not support overturning a decision based off the drug test results, However, Amando Garcia and I are meeting with the Attorney General next month to begin the process of modifying the existing laws to incorporate those rules for the future. Should everything move along like I anticipate, I would expect to see the changes in place by the end of the year. ”

Prior to Gracie’s positive test results, heavyweight fighter Tim Persey, who fought on the EliteXC portion that was seen on Showtime, was tested positive for methamphetamine. He was fined $1,000, which is equivalent to five percent of his $20,000 fight purse and suspended for six months. Also, fellow veteran Ken Shamrock was given a 12-month ban in March this year after three steroids were detected in his system. Gracie however said that his case is different from Shamrock’s. “Look at him from the beginning! I lift a lot of weights, but I don’t look like that.”

Gracie previously mocked other fighters suspect of using steroids by saying, “Yeah, milk does your body good but not that good!”

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