BREAKING: Alistair Overeem reportedly tests positive for banned substance after Glory win, management claims it’s not PED

Former UFC heavyweight Alistair Overeem has reportedly tested positive for a banned substance following his victory over Badr Hari at GLORY: Collision 4.

According to an article from De Telegraaf, Overeem’s A sample has uncovered a banned substance. The sample from the 42-year-old was given directly after the fight against Hari and further tests are being conducted on the Dutch athlete’s B sample.

In a statement released by ‘The Demolition Man’ and his team, while they were aware he may have taken a banned substance, they are confident it wasn’t a performance enhancing drug and are awaiting the results of the investigation.

[Translated to English] Lars Van Soest of De Telegraaf wrote:

“Overeem’s management is currently awaiting the results of the b-sample and would not comment further. However, according to them, the substance found is not a performance-enhancing substance. After his victory over Hari, Overeem seemed to be the appropriate new opponent of heavyweight champion Verhoeven. Only the signatures still had to be signed, otherwise the deal between Glory, Verhoeven and Overeem was as good as settled. On Saturday, however, it became clear that there is a hitch.”

According to Van Soest, the Dutchman’s victory would have placed him next inline to face Rico Verhoeven for the GLORY Kickboxing World Heavyweight championship, but this latest news suggests that is no longer the case.

When was Alistair Overeem cut from the UFC?

Alistair Overeem was released from the UFC following a second-round TKO loss to Alexander Volkov at UFC Vegas 18 last year. The UFC veteran was a hugely popular figure on the roster and had racked up almost 50 wins (47-19) as a professional MMA fighter.

While it may have come as a shock to some, considering the Dutchman was 4-2 in his last six fights, UFC president Dana White confirmed that age catches up to everyone. Along with Overeem, Brazilian MMA veteran Junior dos Santos was also released.

In an interview with TMZ Sports, White explained that it wasn’t anything personal and thanked Overeem for his service to the UFC and MMA:

“People get cut every week… I think those two [Alistair Overeem and Junior dos Santos] are pretty self-explanatory. It’s nothing negative, it’s just part of the sport… Age, it gets us all man.”

Watch the full interview with TMZ sports here: