The interim heavyweight champion of the UFC lost his recent title fight against Brock Lesnar in July. It was the first loss of Shane Carwin since he joined the UFC in 2008. Carwin is considered as one of the best heavyweight fighters in UFC. He has a clean record, with good fights and no record of any positive test for steroids. His fight with Lesnar was free of steroids based on the steroid tests conducted by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. But Carwin needs to explain the inclusion of his name as one of the clients of Applied Pharmacy Services in Alabama which is involved in the illegal distribution of anabolic steroids.

The name of Shane Carwin was mentioned in the sentencing of one of the respondents in the APS case. The federal court sentenced J. Michael Bennett, a supervising pharmacist at Applied Pharmacy Services, to spend 4 years in jail for participating in a nationwide conspiracy to sell anabolic steroids. Assistant U.S. attorney Donna Dobbins said that Carwin was one of the 22 professional athletes who purchased steroids from the APS. There were records showing the names and initials of athletes and the type of anabolic steroids they ordered.

Mobile Case is one of the largest steroid distribution rings in the country and it involves several doctors who connived with the pharmacy owners in prescribing illegal steroids. Based on the records, there are at least 762,000 dosages of anabolic steroids purchased and sent to 17 doctors and clinics from April 4, 2004 to August 30, 2006. This is aside from the unrecorded transactions of the pharmacy.

Other names also came out based on the report of the Press Register. Most of them were professional wrestlers and bodybuilders. There were also two professional baseball players and a professional fighter with an initial of S.C. which purportedly refers to Shane Carwin. The wrestlers were Kurt Angle and Bob “Hardcore Bob Holly” Howard. The bodybuilders who also bought steroids from the pharmacy were Toney Freeman, Quincy Taylor, Dennis Newman and Troy Zuccolotto. There were also previous reports that Jose Canseco, Gary Matthews Jr. and Evander Holyfield were also clients of the pharmacy.

Court documents showed that the client with the initials of S.C. and described as a professional fighter ordered several types of anabolic steroids from January to August 2006. The cocktail of steroids ordered from the pharmacy were Trenbolone, Testosterone, injectable Stanozolol and Nandrolone. The clinic, Infinite Health that provided S.C. with the illegal prescription, was also located in Colorado where Carwin resides.

According to US prosecutor Dobbins, the steroids were intended for livestock use and considered as very potent anabolic steroids. “These steroids are for horses and cows, not for young people and humans,” she told the media. The clients mentioned in the sentencing of Bennett were not included in the case. However, those professional athletes mentioned have to explain to the public why they were involved in the steroid scandal. For Shane Carwin, he has a lot of things to explain especially that he never tested positive for any of the substances he allegedly purchased from the Applied Pharmacy Services.

When the news came out that former baseball slugger Jose Canseco will be fighting a 60-year old in a celebrity boxing match, many sports writers criticized him for taking the challenge. Gary Hogan, a retired baseball coach from the University of Arkansas and the assistant athletic director of Little Rock, fought Canseco in a 4 rounder boxing match. It was indeed a good promotional stunt for the organizers since they were able to get the attention of the public and the fans as well. The proceeds of the exhibition match will benefit Ray Rodgers’ boxing gym and the GED program in Little Rock.

The “Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Rumble by the River” boxing match was held at the Dickey-Stephens Park before the Arkansas Travelers-Midland Rockhounds Double-A baseball game. Canseco lost to Hogan for a 39-37 score card. There were several comments against Canseco in many online discussions for losing against a 60-year old. Some said that it is time for Canseco to leave the world of sports and leave behind the fame that he had experienced before. The effects of his steroid use could be the reason why he was not able to at least dominate the fight.

It can be recalled that the first celebrity fight of Canseco against the former NFL player Vai Sikahema in 2008 was a knockdown. Sikahema knocked him out in 97 seconds. His second fight was a draw. Canseco was trying to rebuild his career in boxing and MMA but he finds it difficult to get good match ups and bigger events.

But for those people who watch the game, they believe that Canseco did not exert too much effort in winning the celebrity boxing match since it is only an exhibition game. According to Steve Cofield of Yahoo Sports, it looks like the snitch that sports fans love to hate showed a little heart. “Frankly, it didn’t look like Canseco, 46, was really trying,” he said.

However, it was different thing for Hogan. He believes that Canseco already lost his stamina and strength in the succeeding rounds. “He did [throw his heavy artillery at me],” Hogan said during the post fight interview by the media. “I took some shots but the bottom line is, I’m used to taking shots. I felt good in there. I wasn’t tired, my conditioning was unbelievable. I thought he got tired there in the third and fourth rounds,” Hogan added.

On the other hand, Canseco was not really aiming to win the fight. Anyway, he was paid for participating in that boxing event. “It’s an exhibition. I had a great time. I’ve gotta a lot of respect for Gary. Just coming out here and fighting a guy 15 years his junior, he’s got some [guts],” Canseco said in an interview.

One thing that Canseco should realize in competing in celebrity matches is it may not help his bid to get into the real world of boxing and mixed martial arts. He needs to fight in title matches to be able to improve his rankings. Right now, Canseco is aiming for a cage fight against Herschel Walker. But the Strikeforce seems not interested in including them in one of the major events in MMA.

Meanwhile, Ken Shamrock apologized to fans for blaming them why professional athletes like him are into steroids. The former Hall of Famer clarified his statement saying it is really up to the athletes if they take steroids or not. “I’m sorry if that’s the way it came off to point fingers at fans because that’s not what I was doing. I’m not saying that it’s not the athlete’s responsibility at all, no way. But what I’m saying is when something like that comes out and then you have people going, ‘oh my God, I can’t believe he was doing that!’ … that to me is wrong because to me most likely — and I’m not saying in all cases — but most likely people know what’s going on,” he told Zach Arnold of The Fight Nerd.

He also denied that he was in favor of legalizing anabolic steroids. He was quoted in previous interview that he believes steroids should be made legal. “No, that was taken out of context. I do not, absolutely do not believe that steroids should be legal,” Shamrock said. “My intention on that whole conversation was I thought that steroids should be controlled,” he added.

Shamrock, who already served his suspension due to a positive test for anabolic steroid, is scheduled to fight against Pedro Rizzo at Impact FC card in Sydney, Australia on July 17.

The recent admission of UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock in an interview with Mike Straka of HDNet’s Fighting Words was not appalling since he was previously tested positive for steroids in 2009. He was suspended for one year because of 3 different anabolic steroids found in his system when he fought super heavyweight Ross Clifton at “War Gods: Valentine’s Eve Massacre” in 2009. He won the fight but anti-doping authorities slapped him with a suspension due to Stanozolol and 19-Norandrosterone and 19-Noretiocholanolone, both were nandrolone-based substances.

Shamrock questioned the results but did not pursue the case to clear his name. Instead he just accepted the suspension. With his admission, it validated the results of his steroid tests. The reason for admitting in public that he took steroids is not yet clear. But some of MMA fans lauded his decision. “Kudos to Shamrock for being so honest and not making phony excuses like baseball players do,” commented by a fan.

However, the most interesting part in the interview was the insinuation of the MMA legend that the fans put too much burden on the players to become bigger, stronger and perform at the highest level. “They want home runs, baby. They want people jacking them out of the park,” Shamrock said. He noted that whenever a player tested positive for a banned substance, the fans would immediately blame them for being irresponsible. “But then when they find out about it they want to stick their heads in the sand and (say), ‘How bad, that was stupid, you’re crazy, don’t let him in the hall of fame.’ It’s like let’s point the finger because if we don’t point the finger at somebody else, we have to point it at ourselves because we knew. Nobody wants to take responsibility, but everyone wants to see it,” he added.

Ken Shamrock also revealed how easy it is to buy steroids especially for professional athletes. “It’s like going to the grocery store. It’s that simple. It’s that easy,” said Shamrock. However, abusing these drugs could pose harm to the athlete. “But when you start trying to make things bigger and better, you’re going to get yourself hurt.”

Journeyman Dennis Hallman agreed on Shamrock’s statement. The use of steroids in the sport is common. “Just like if you have a headache, you take aspirin to make yourself feel better; if you have a serious injury and you take steroids to heal you, that’s a smart thing to do. That’s what’s going to heal your body,” said Hallman. For him, steroids should not be the only factor that will help improve the skills of a fighter. “If you’re taking steroids to make yourself a better fighter because you don’t have the skill level or something like that, then it’s a problem,” Hallman added. He also estimated that at least 50 percent of the fighters are taking performance enhancers. There were only a few who failed steroid tests because they were always ahead of the anti-doping system.

Before entering into mixed martial arts, Shamrock wrestled for the WWE from 1997 to 1999 and became one of the WWE Intercontinental champions. He also has a short stint in TNA in 2002 where he won a championship title. Ken Shamrock will prove again his fighting skills against Pedro Rizzo in July 18 at Impact Fighting Championship to be held at Sydney Events Centre in Sydney, Australia.

The extravagant demands of Floyd Mayweather Jr. to require all his opponents to undergo an Olympic style blood testing may have contributed something good to professional sports. Others criticize Mayweather for his actions which many consider as promotional efforts to sell his fights. On the other hand, the boxer has a basis for requesting for a stricter test in sports since many athletes were using performance enhancing drugs particularly anabolic steroids.

The UFC may be the next one to adopt an Olympic style blood testing. There were already a handful of mixed martial arts fighters involved in the use of steroids so instituting a comprehensive blood testing will help clean the sport with PED’s. But the real motive of some fighters may be questioned because they could be using this issue to hype their fights.

In the press conference for the Season 12 of the “The Ultimate Fighter,” coach and fighter Josh Koscheck said that his future opponent Georges St. Pierre should undergo an Olympic style blood testing. Georges St. Pierre has been into steroid spotlight in the previous months because of allegations that he was using steroids. One of his accusers is BJ Penn who believes that GSP is not 100% clean. He used this issue in their pre-fight and post-fight at UFC 94. Currently, athletic commissions use urine tests to determine if an athlete is using steroids or not. However, there are other performance enhancers that can only be detected in blood tests.

Although, Georges St. Pierre have not failed a test, his future opponent wants to be sure that he is not pumping his body with performance enhancers. “From what I’ve heard from other fighters in other camps, yeah, (St. Pierre) has done steroids and HGH. But Koscheck is not sure if these allegations were true. “I don’t know. This is just on hearsay information that I’ve gotten. That’s just speculation, but it’s a possibility,” Koscheck told news agencies.

Koscheck also admitted that he received more information from the BJ Penn’s camp. “B.J. Penn and his camp gave me a little phone call. They were saying, ‘Yeah, he’s on steroids. He’s this; he’s that.’ I said, ‘Yeah, there’s a possibility.’ The guy is pretty ripped all year round,” he told MMA Junkie.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship 12 is scheduled in December where coaches will be fighting in the main event. Koscheck on his part is willing to undergo an Olympic style blood testing. “I would love to do it; why not?” he said. He believes that adopting this kind of testing will be good for UFC. “I think Olympic-style testing would be great for our sport. At least you do it a couple times out from the fight. I think it will be a great idea,” he added.

St. Pierre also accepted the challenge and he also want this kind of testing in the sport. “I stand for that more than anybody else,” said St. Pierre. “I just hope it will happen soon because I know a lot of people cheat in this sport, and it’s unacceptable. I am all for random blood testing. Nobody in the UFC agrees on that more than me,” he added.

And the MMA champ has something to say against his future opponent for asking him to undergo blood testing. “I have no problem — any time he wants,” he said. “I’m not a coward and somebody that uses steroids is a cheater. I am not afraid of Josh Koscheck and I don’t have to cheat to beat him,” St. Pierre added.

St. Pierre believes that steroids were really helping fighters to gain more advantage in the ring. Genetics, style, skills and the heart to win makes a good fighter according to GSP. However, the use of steroids is a big factor that will change the outcome of a fight. “What makes a good fighter is a lot of things: genetics, style, skills, heart. But now, there’s another factor that influences a fight and that’s the team of doctors behind the fighter. This should not be an element that helps a fighter,” he said.

The UFC Hall of Famer, Ken Shamrock is eyeing for a return in the ring after a respite from MMA. He was busted for anabolic steroids last year when he fought Ross Clifton at War Gods: “Valentine’s Eve Massacre”. He made an impressing win through an armbar submission during the first round but was later found using 3 different kinds of steroids. The California State Athletic Commission found in his system 19-Noretiocholanolone, 19-Norandrosterone, and Stanozolol which were all banned by the sports organization. These 3 positives caused his 1 year suspension and was given a fine of $2,500. He was also banned in participating in any UFC event.

His comeback was made public when it was announced through twitter that the “world’s most dangerous man” will be fighting at IUF (International Unlimited Fighting) on March 6 at Cancun, Mexico. He will be fighting against Seth Petruzelli who posted in twitter that the WBO belt is at stake in the big fight. The match-up will last for 5 rounds and MMA fans can watch it live via satellite through PPV.

Seth “The Silverback” Petruzelli is also planning for a UFC comeback after his back-to-back losses to Matt Hamill and Wilson Gouveia. He has only one fight this year at Art of Fighting 4 where he stopped Chris Baten. Petruzelli becomes a sensation when he knocked down brawler Kimbo Slice with a fade away jab. On the other hand, Ken Shamrock supposed fight against Kimbo Slice in Elite XC in 2008 was canceled due to an injury he sustained during warm-ups.

Mixed martial arts fanatics will surely watch this match-up to see if Ken Shamrock is still in shape after long break from the cage and prove that he is still the world’s most dangerous man. Another thing that fans will ask is if he already learned his lesson from taking steroids. These two fighters, Ken Shamrock (27-13-2) and Seth Petruzelli (11-4), will try their luck at the International Unlimited Fighting (IUF: “The Return of Buluc”) and want to show that they can still be a fighter worth watching at UFC.

Meanwhile, the Tennessee Athletic Commission, through its director Jeff Mullen, told the media that the tests of UFC 107 fighters were all clean. The 22 fighters who competed in that event did not fail any test for steroids and other recreational drugs like cocaine and marijuana. The UFC’s 107 main event is the clash between two best fighters. The fight was dominated by the lightweight division champion BJ “The Prodigy” Penn. He was able to defend his title against the number one contender Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez. Heavyweight champion Frank Mir was also successful in achieving his 3rd title against Cheick Kongo.

According to the Tennessee Athletic Commission (TAC), 4 of the 22 competitors were tested for banned substances. BJ Penn, the current lightweight champion and Diego Sanchez, the challenger, both returned negative results. Two other fighters were also subjected to random tests, welterweights Jon Fitch and Mike Pierce. UFC 107 was held last December 12 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn.

While steroids becomes a sensation in boxing, its rival MMA has started to get public attention for its internal problem on steroids. Accusations of steroid use from other fighters looms and positive tests of other players become a major issue in the arena of mixed martial arts. The surge in popularity of this contact sports is a proof that players will do everything just to establish a name and become a champion. It is a sport not spared from the benefits of using performance enhancers.

Just like in boxing, MMA champions were not isolated from steroid accusations especially the heavyweights. Frank Mir is the latest fighter implicated in the use of steroids. The abrupt change of his body physique caught the attention of his critics. The 21 pounds shredded from his weight when he fought Cheick Kongo in UFC 107 raised some speculations. With his more muscular and beefed up body, he was able to dropped Kongo in the first round and finished him with a guillotine choke early in the fight. Mir is quick to address the issue but did not make it as a major concern. “I understand, everyone is quick to downplay anyone who is successful,” he said during an interview. He told to Cagewriter.com that his performance now is due to the help of his strength and conditioning coach Mark Philippi. The coach and a former Strongest Man winner did not administered any banned or illegal substance during his training. “Mark Phillipe is a huge man himself and he’s always been a drug-free athlete. He’s never had to use that to compete with and he’s in the upper echelon. That’s kind of why I chose him because I see guys who are out there that are super strong,” Mir said.

“I had the mentality that well, I’m going to have to be a cardio freak and every extra pound is going to count against me. So if it’s not pure muscle it’s a waste of my time.” He said that 261 pounds is his natural body weight. “If you look at those 10 pounds you have to look at what percentage of that is muscle. I’m not really a 245-pound guy,” he said.

Mir is still determined to bulk up as he prepares for a rematch against the heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. The match is still in limbo due to the health condition of Lesnar. For the meantime, Frank Mir is being matched against the super-sized Shane Carwin on March 2010.

Another steroid accusation came from trainer Rudy Valentino and BJ Penn. The trainer told SI that they felt Georges St. Pierre was on steroids when he fought BJ Penn on their rematch. “I think it’s because of his so-called steroid use, and all of that, that B.J. felt it was an unfair fight. We heard from certain people that used to train with him, telling us what he did in the past. That’s why, we had a heads up on that,” he said. He also speculated that St. Pierre was on a steroid cycle that’s why he never tested positive for any steroids. “When you cycle steroids, you’re not going to test positive. You can cycle it right up to the time of the fight and not test positive on that,” he added.

The most intriguing accusation was from K-1 fighter Zabit Samedov saying that “almost all” Dutch fighters are using steroids. In the sbnation.com report, Samedov gave fearless statements about the allege doping of Golden Glory’s fighters. “Almost all Dutch fighters juice. For example, in Golden Glory it’s almost a part of the club’s policy. They shoot up and fight like it’s nothing. Because of that when they get to the ring they start raging. Think about it yourself, how could Bard Hari change his physical complexion so much in two years?” He also added that Karaev trained in Holland and said that Zimmerman shoots up in front of everyone and only after that starts training. ” Look at what an elephant Zimmerman had become in just two years. But most of these fighters pass all medical tests for steroids.” He also told sbnation that the fighters consume an extremely high level of pharmaceutical drug and undergo an expensive 3 month cycle to get huge.

However, this allegation was immediately denied by Golden Glory’s Bas Boon during an interview with HeadKickLegend.com. Boon asked so many questions against Samedov and told the press that it is the most ridiculous remark he ever heard from a fighter. “Why would he call Samedov and tell this outsider Samedov that Zimmerman shoots steroids in front of his teamates? Maybe Karaev came to Holland to infiltrate the GG camp and then brief Zamedov with the secret medicine GG uses? Did Zamedov get hired by the athletic commission who tested Zamedov positive himself? “I guess it must be frustrating being Samedov’s height and weight - to make accusations in the press like he does, we feel sorry for him,” he added.

Meanwhile, the appeal of Josh Barnett on his steroid case was postponed on February 22, 2010. The case stemmed from the cancellation of his license by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) due to a positive anabolic steroid test in July. Barnett questioned the results and denied using anabolic steroids and any performance enhancing drugs.

The positive test for anabolic steroid was the third in the 12-year career of Josh Barnett who is the youngest champion in the history of UFC. His anabolic steroid use was first detected by the NSAC (Nevada State Athletic Commission) during his title fight against Randy Couture in 2002. Three anabolic steroids were found on his system which resulted to the stripping-off his belt. Barnetts’ anabolic steroid problem also caused the cancellation of his fight against Fedor Emelianenko in Affliction last August.