"King Mo" Muhammed Lawal popped positive for drostanolone after his fight against Lorenz Larkin at Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine, a fact that has baffled the former Strikeforce champ. He and manager Mike Kogan have held firm that Mo is clean.
Talking to Sherdog earlier this week, the fighter maintained his innocence and now appears to be using the "supplement defense":
"My track record speaks [for itself]," implored Lawal. "I've been through college and NCAA drug testing, you see what I mean, I'm a clean athlete. I've been tested through USADA [United States Anti-Doping Agency] and WADA [World Anti-Doping Agency] for international competition and I've always been clean ... This is my first positive test for anything, I don't even know what to say. All I know is that the truth will come to light and I know that I'm a clean athlete, I know that I can guarantee that I am a clean athlete."
,,,
"I've never used any performance enhancer in my life," declared Lawal, who along with manager Mike Kogan seem to be targeting a sizeable stash of supplements and anti-inflammatory injections for a troublesome knee injury leading up to the fight as the potential cause for the positive test.
"Right now we're just looking over everything and trying to come to a conclusion [on how this happened] because it's ridiculous, man," said a frustrated Lawal. "I'm in shock. All I can do is keep on looking at my supplements. I don't even know what to do. I just keep looking over my supplements to see what we can find."
I like Mo, but it's worth repeating the standard line where the athlete is responsible for everything he puts in his body. If you're not 100% certain about a supplement, don't take it.
0 recs | 88 comments
What exactly does it mean....
“If you’re not 100% certain about a supplement, don’t take it.” How exactly are you supposed to be 100% certain? The only way is to send every single supplement you take to an independent lab for testing. Does ANYBODY do that? Is it even affordable for anyone except that top MMA stars who are realing in the big $$$‘s? Not only that but you would have to do it every single time you open a new container since it could be good one time and not good another time. I just don’t see how it’s possible to be 100% certain all the time unless you totally give up all supplements.
DerSpiegel - January 22, 2012
Or you can just take protein
I doubt you will pop positive if you take whey.
Farthammer - January 22, 2012
Didn’t Sherk claim it was protein in his case?
killphil - January 22, 2012
I thought Sherk's problem was that the lab was shady
Farthammer - January 22, 2012
What the heck happened to Sherk? He hasn’t had a fight since September 2010.
dribblebib - January 22, 2012
Good question.
Zachary Kater - January 22, 2012
Here's a recent interview with Sean
http://mmajunkie.com/news/26896/ex-champ-sean-sherk-aims-for-spring-ufc-return-wants-to-solidify-hof-credentials.mma
dv8shun - January 22, 2012
Yeah I wonder what happened……..hmmmm……….after his suspension, he comes back, cant win a fight, looks half as explosive as he did before the positive test, and suddenly cant stay healthy. Odd how that works. Those damn shady labs.
Hutchy - January 22, 2012
Mhh, I think you’re right. But somehow I heard the “tainted Protein” argument before.
killphil - January 22, 2012
Sherk always seemed believable when he told his story. Not saying for sure one way or another, but when he came on Inside MMA and discussed it, it really made you wonder about the competence of the athletic commission.
Zachary Kater - January 22, 2012
Aside from the fact that he has looked like a totallyu different fighter post-test and suddenly out of the blue cant stay healthy for more then a month? Yup, totally believable.
Hutchy - January 22, 2012
Thank you, Doctor Hutchy.
I never said he wasn’t using. You’re the only one who seems to have reached a conclusion.
Zachary Kater - January 22, 2012
I harp on this a lot, but the Quest Diagnostics lab that handled his sample also tested their sample blank (basically a glass of water) as being positive for steroids.
Remember too that this was under the Armando Garcia-led CSAC, which handled drug tests so poorly that the next administration initially instructed promotions to not drug test rather than drug test by the old standards.
Tedd Welch - January 22, 2012
He also said he had a tainted supplement.
Phildo - January 22, 2012
Ah, the "kitchen sink" defense
Farthammer - January 22, 2012
Well, if you beileve the hype
Some Spanish cyclists blamed tainted “beef” for the reason they tested positive for the PED clenbuterol.
If eating a steak can make you test positive for PEDs, virtually nothing is safe.
The Lethal Haze - January 22, 2012
In some countries clenbuterol is given to cattle
Although I’m not sure if eating the cow can make it show up in your piss.
Dr.Mundo - January 22, 2012
And cyclists aren’t testing with urine. They test with blood.
memitim - January 22, 2012 via mobile
Bas Rutten says this every time..
name the supplemen! Using the unnamed supplement defense is old. " I took A supplement ". What was it? You must be the only fighter to take that one cuz nobody else popped for it. Just admit it and the story will go away. And the less King Mo the better. imo
filo bedo - January 22, 2012 via Android app
I think that's why
he said they were looking through his supplements.
asa - January 22, 2012
Makes too much sense.
dribblebib - January 22, 2012
Just a thought
Listen I basically agree with this, but what do you think a supplement company would do if some guy claimed in national media that their supplement was tainted? They would sue his ass off. Even if it was true, that’s a headache any sane person would avoid at almost any cost. I don’t know if anyone reading this has ever been in a protracted lawsuit, but it is life sucking and soul draining and can last for years.
DankNabbot - January 22, 2012
we are talking about people who already have a year of free time.
Phildo - January 22, 2012
It must have been a can of supplement that only King Mo ever used, or no other fighter in the history of MMA has ever used, because no one else has gotten popped for using this presumably widely available supplement. Funny how that works.
Hutchy - January 22, 2012
It's pretty easy to have a startup supplement company that looks legit.
Fight shops are often the worst offenders too. They have a gym buddy who started his own “supplement brand” and just needs somebody to carry it, shop owner says they have an “exclusive in house brand” that they make way higher margins on. But it’s really some guy buying raw ingredients in bulk and mixing it in his kitchen and adding in something that may or may not be legitimate to the “proprietary blend.” You can see it all the time.
There was a great scene in Bigger Stronger Faster about this. It’s why you should never trust OTC supplements if you’re going to be tested without being completely sure it doesn’t contain banned substances.
pdl - January 22, 2012
Yes true for PED’s still being made and available to the public, but Masteron/drostanolone has not been made for over 20+ years and when it was around it was only in Europe. Its the #1 cooked up PED buy black market chemist and a top of the line Steriod that cost a ton of $.
Shocbomb - January 22, 2012
Many fans don’t accept this because it isn’t them that will get sued. Its not their life that will go through the hell of being dragged into court by a lawyered up company.
The fighter should reveal what they took, but only to the commission in a confidential way. Who gives a shit what fans think? Many fans climb on a high horse and believe it’s as simple as outing the company and it’s over.
That isn’t the case at all. I can’t see Muscle Pharm going quietly when their product is getting called out by a fighter.
Riley_96 - January 22, 2012
They are going quietly all on their own.
pdl - January 22, 2012
he actually has named all the supplement's his taken:
http://espn.go.com/blog/mma/post/_/id/7917/lawal-i%27m-all-about-training-hard
darkotto23 - January 22, 2012
*he's
darkotto23 - January 22, 2012
Has anyone ever heard of any of these? “Mass lean gainer” sounds like something that would use what he tested positive for to my completely uninformed brain.
Phildo - January 22, 2012
could be anything
I regularly use most of what he lists, though not those particular brands (it should be Beta Alanine not Bete).
The only thing I have a question mark about is the ‘Rock Solid’ ‘Lean Gainer’ because I don’t know what is supposed to be in it.
But that all said, these things aren’t made in lab environments where contaminations are unheard of. Last year, South African rugby team was busted and fortunately exonerated after supplements from USN, certified as containing no banned substances by the manufacturer, were found to contain methylhexanamine (the stuff from jack3d).
quick_dry - January 22, 2012
Any tested athlete is a fool to use any substance not certified for purity by NSF Certified for Sport or HFL Sports Science.
The American Ronin - January 22, 2012
Yeh this is definitely good press for Lawal...
Shows he has next to no knowledge of what’s in his supplements. Pretty sweet advertising opportunity though. Gonna get me some of that Mass Lean Gainer
ThatsHowIRoll - January 22, 2012
Just man up and admit it.
TheLastEmpress - January 22, 2012
What I don't get is why is it they can sell suppliments OTC that can cause you to piss hot
Don’t the tests get you on stuff that should be illegal?
HaterSlayer - January 22, 2012
There are many performance enhancing drugs that are illegal for competition but not illegal for medical or recreational use. Cortisone comes to mind as a banned substance for competition that is perfectly legal to use otherwise.
exsanguinator - January 22, 2012
Not “illegal,” just “not allowed.”
Machiel Van - January 23, 2012
There's stuff they sell on bodybuilding.com
that on the label at the very end tells you not to take it if your involved in something that tests for PEDs
HitokiriX - January 22, 2012
No. banned and illegal are not the same thing.
Besides that, the supplement industry is hardly regulated. There is no one checking to see if they put banned things in the drugs (legal or not).
Phildo - January 22, 2012
Or, Haterslayer, these guys are just lying their ass off about the supplement.
Hutchy - January 22, 2012
It doesn't matter if he didn't intentionally take them
It’s still against the rules for them to be in your system. If it is really the “supplements” he should use the ones approved by the NFL. They are supposed to have tight quality control to prevent this sort of thing.
ace328 - January 22, 2012
i find it odd
That these guys always take a supplement that causes them to piss hot for a substance that directly help them. In this case drostanolone. They never piss hot for odd shit like estrogen boosters. I know that estrogen is taken to boost testosterone reproduction but I’m just making a point, or trying to. I think you understand what I’m trying to say?
filo bedo - January 22, 2012 via mobile
Most of the substances on the "don't"-list will be helpful though
That’s what got them there in the first place. And to expect the forbidden “recreational drugs” to show up is a stretch, given that the idea is that these substances are added to athletes supplements during production (be it by design to make a product more effective with a few undisclosed additions or by accident because the manufacturer hasn’t seperated production-lines well enough)
KGNLuc - January 22, 2012
We just ignorant motha f*****z if we dOnt believe Mo…we don’t know shit, we stupid azz fans
Afrotikiman - January 22, 2012 via mobile
People LOVE to deny cheating
Even on the Tv show Cheaters, people would deny, deny, deny cheating when confronted by the person they’re in a realtionship with. And then the host would show them videotaped evidence of them getting cought in the act cheating and some of them would still deny it (That ain’t me man!). It’s so laughable. Some people just can’t admit to cheating and will just go the deny route until the day they die.
DerSpiegel - January 22, 2012
Joey Greco was a boss.
Zachary Kater - January 22, 2012
Until that one cheater tried to kill him.
it was going to happen sooner or later
Clay Davis - January 22, 2012
stupid idea really
How no one died is a mystery to me.
My guess, heavy editing and careful screening.
TheFilt - January 22, 2012
I guess Kim Winslow wasn't the villain after all
Genius Mo derps gamma-powered bombs on poor Lorenz Larkin then shifts back into what he does best: the high and mighty.
dribblebib - January 22, 2012
Didn’t he pop for some “expensive designer anabolic steroid”?
I don’t know much about suplement market, but “expensive” and “designer” tell me that
it’s not something you can find in your regular protein shakes.
dancingChicken - January 22, 2012
exactly
that’s like buying a $2 joint and having someone be afraid that’s it’s laced with something. $2 doobies aren’t laced with anything but oregano.
tha dude - January 22, 2012
“I dont know how this pharmaceutical grade cocaine got in my $2.00 joint!!”
Hutchy - January 22, 2012
Mo Lawal is a good guy, and the ambiguity about which supplementations are ‘good’ or not in terms of testing is ridiculous. I think Lawal is guilty of naivety, not malice. I look forward to him coming back from this and moving on, he has so much potential it’s untrue.
sheikybaby - January 22, 2012
Just say no, kids
If someone at the gym offers you something because it might help in a certain area – don’t take it.
Find a high end nutritional company to sponsor you if you endorse their product, and have a contract with them regarding liability if in fact any of their supplements are tainted. I’m talking millions of dollars liability clause. If they’re legitimate they should have no problem agreeing to such a contract. If they’re a company that taints supplements to improve their success rate with customers, they’d never take it.
Have the agreement drawn up between both parties’ lawyers so all the legal language can be worked out and it can’t be exploited to try and get a fraud based payout.
KJ Gould - January 22, 2012
Not really that viable of an option for people who aren't high-profile fighters though...
Zachary Kater - January 22, 2012
then don’t take anything but your multivitamin if it’s going to ruin your career.
Phildo - January 22, 2012
It’s human nature for people to push the boundaries of what is acceptable for a competitive advantage. If only it were that easy for everyone to just play by the rules.
Zachary Kater - January 22, 2012
I have no problem with people pushing the boundaries, but I’m not going to feel any sympathy for them when they fall over the edge.
Phildo - January 22, 2012
If I sound like I'm sticking up for them, I'm not.
I’m in favor of random testing, I think that’s the only way you can cut down on the people breaking the rules. Well, that, and stiffer punishments. 6 months suspended isn’t really much of a punishent for a Zuffa fighter who fights 2-3 times a year at most as is.
Zachary Kater - January 22, 2012
Too true...
The fact that many Established UFC guys take 3-4 months off at a minimum really lowers the sting of a failed test. These guys lay their health on the line, so I’m not opposed to them using PEDs for recovery in theory, but it would require a ton of oversight, and themufc, while growing fast, is not the NFL. Pro football players must be using HGH, and probably couldn’t survive the physical toll without it.
Snatchl - January 22, 2012
ahem
for a perceived competitive advantage
DankNabbot - January 22, 2012
Yeah, it's debatable. There are drawbacks as well as supposed advantages, also.
Zachary Kater - January 22, 2012
If you're a professional athlete under the Zuffa umbrella, you have to do your utmost to remain vigilante over your supplement intake
KJ Gould - January 22, 2012
Thats a great strategy KJ for the half dozen guys in MMA (less since Lesnar retired) able to negotiate such a deal.
sheikybaby - January 22, 2012
A lot of these companies already sponsor fighters
If the fighters organise collectively to get such legal language into their contracts, these companies will consider it in case a competitor comes in who is willing to do it.
It also means the tainted supplement excuse can’t be used unless it can be without shadow of a doubt proven.
KJ Gould - January 22, 2012
True, but that level of organization would be hard without a union/fighters association, so it'll be wrist slaps and business.
Snatchl - January 22, 2012
Does Mo understand his defense would be more believable if every freakin person who got caught didn’t say the same exact thing!!! And none of them were able to prove their bullshit to be correct.
evenflow10 - January 22, 2012 via mobile
Has anyone ever been cleared? ?Has there ever been a case where the commission came out and said “We unequivocally screwed up, its 100% our fault, hes totally clean, our bad ,suspension revoked”. Ever? Maybe once?
Hutchy - January 22, 2012
The Sherk case was pretty close to that, but the commission will never come out and openly say “we fucked up”.
Riley_96 - January 22, 2012
I like Mo, and i want to believe him, but it's hard
If i’m being honest Mo isn’t one of the fighters that i would suspect to using PED’s. What he says about being tested all throughout college and for international competition makes sense.
This isn’t like the Cyborg case, i never pegged Mo as a “cheater”, but its funny how its the people you least expect who turn out to be using PEDs.
darkotto23 - January 22, 2012
If the people you least expect
and the people you most expect both test positive, what does that say about the people in the middle?
TheFilt - January 22, 2012
Hey guys?
… I can’t put my finger on why- but I kinda believe Mo.
Does that mean I’m… Different?
SanFranpsycho - January 22, 2012 via mobile
Just admit it already
You’re busted. For a guy who is supposed to be so knowledgeable….
rolandd - January 22, 2012
.
IKiIIed007 - January 22, 2012
Guys Come On...
Claiming you tested positive for Masteron because of your protein powder is the equivalent of the glove not fitting OJ’s hand. It’s ridiculous, untrue, and down right comical. If there were supplement companies out there loading their products up with illegal, powerful anabolic hormones and selling them to thousands of people wouldn’t you think that kind of thing would eventually come out? Or did Mo just get the one bottle that had been dosed? The giant flaming red flag about this whole thing is that Masteron “which is what he tested positive for” is not an orally active hormone. Meaning it has to be injected intramuscularly to become active in the blood. It’s not chemically possible to take Masteron orally, meaning his oral supplement program could not have been the cause of the positive test. It was injected into his body. I find it hard to believe he unknowingly injected powerful anabolic agents into his body.
CRWHITLOCK - January 22, 2012
I could not have said it better, there whole argument and explanation is just as poor as it gets.
Shocbomb - January 22, 2012
I say get them all on roids and let them be all that they can be. Like the ifbb.
peet cassidy - January 22, 2012 via mobile
mo needs to find a new manager.
After reading the whole article, 2 things stick out. First, there’s no reason to bring Anthony Johnson’s name into this. Mentioning his name when discussing the type of drug is an unnecessary shot, shutup and worry about your client.
Second, why on earth would testing the B sample be the first thing that you do? in every other sport if the B sample comes up negative, you are negative and get off scot free. Why waste your time investigating everything in your “supplement stash” if it was a false positive?
Phildo - January 22, 2012
Agreed. Mike Kogan, based on his commentary on Banuelos during the last Dream event, is a complete and total jackass.
Snatchl - January 22, 2012
that second one should have a wouldn’t in there. Why wouldn’t you test the b sample right away.
Phildo - January 22, 2012
I have no problem with them all being on roids BUT....
….it would hurt the UFC from a marketing perspective in their efforts to gain new fans and grow the company. There would be a media firestorm. They’d say “The UFC doesn’t care about the health of it’s fighters. They’re willing to let these young men damage their bodies and cause long term health risks that won’t happen until after their careers end.” That sort of thing. Also, I don’t think the athletic commisions would be too keen on allowing it either. It just ain’t gonna happen.
DerSpiegel - January 22, 2012
just trying to pull the wool over the fans eyes again, maybe Mo and Kogan don’t understand that Masteron/drostanolone propionate usally passes threw your system in 7 to 10 days after useage, Also the actual drug has not been made now buy any pharmaceutical industry for over 20+ years.Its almost impossible for any supplement to show a false positive for that PED.
Shocbomb - January 22, 2012
I still would like to see comparison pic of Mo, he look much larger during his large fight, his back was huge.
Kefka - January 22, 2012
The drug he tested positive is for gaining strength without mass.
Phildo - January 22, 2012
I don’t care what drug he took. I would like to see pictures comparison. Because I thought he looked larger in his last fight, esp his back.
Kefka - January 23, 2012
He failed the “look test”? Oh my! Suspend him forever!!!!
Machiel Van - January 23, 2012
Hard to feel bad for people who test positive.
I believe they all know exactly what they put in their bodies unless they are extremely careless.
mixedmartialmike - January 22, 2012
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