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Days after it was revealed that former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante had tested positive for a banned substance and was suspended for one year, the fighter’s camp has filed an appeal.

“Feijao” was fined $2,500, and received the aforementioned suspension, following a positive drug test after his quick win over Mike Kyle at ‘Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier’. It was revealed today that the positive test was for Stanozolol metabolites, an anabolic steroid. Other fighters to test positive for the steroid include “Cyborg” Santos, Chris Leben, and Tim Sylvia.

As first reported by MMAjunkie.com, Feijao’s camp has filed an official appeal with the CSAC, and it is expected that a hearing date will be announced in the not so distant future.

So much for that title fight with Mousasi.

Former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante has tested positive for a banned substance following his quick victory over Mike Kyle at last month’s ‘Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier’ event.

As CSAC executive officer George Dodd confirmed with MMAFighting.com, Cavalcante was informed of his failed test earlier in the week, but has yet to respond. At this time, the fighter has been suspended for one year, and fined $2,500 by the athletic commission.

Ed Soares, who manages ‘Feijao’, claims his camp has sent out an official response to the CSAC, and will be appealing the decision.

Former Strikeforce women’s featherweight champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos will not be allowed inside a cage anytime soon, as her appeal for a positive drug test has been denied by the California State Athletic Commission.

Following a win over Hiroko Yamanaka last year, Santos tested positive for an anabolic steroid. She was stripped of her title and fined, with the victory changed to a no-contest.

Cyborg’s attorney, Bob Bartlett, claimed at the hearing that the positive test was caused by a weight-loss supplement given to her by one of her coaches. But rather than fight the test result like others have done in the past, Santos admitted she “made a mistake” and asked for leniency. Chairman John Frierson felt her admission was enough to warrant a reduced suspension, however he was out voted by the other commissioners and the one-year suspension was upheld.

Dr. VanBuren Ross summed up why the majority voted against a shortened suspension.

“I have to point out that the use of performance enhancing medications or drugs in this sport is unacceptable and dangerous,” said Dr. Lemons. “It’s one of the most dangerous things we can allow, that we see athletes doing. Intentionally or unintentionally, the opponent was put in undue danger at that match. My recommendation is not to reduce the penalty.”

Santos later posted a message on her Facebook page, offering thanks to those that continue to support her.

I want to thank all my fans, friends, coaches, Legal Counsel, sponsors, who are with me. Unfortunately we could not reduce my penalty. I’m sad…But after a storm in the morning see the sun shine. Nothing like a day after another day…Soon will come back better than ever I promise. Thank my God always keep praising You.

Santos can seek her fight license one year to the date of her fight with Yamanaka, which took place on December 17.

With “Cyborg” gone from women’s MMA, Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate have helped fill the void. However, having someone back like her, despite the positive test, can only enhance the division and help push it to another level.

On another note, the CSAC also passed an amendment at today’s meeting that would allow the California commission to issue therapeutic use exemptions for testosterone, marijuana and other banned substances. The CSAC has issued TUE’s in the past — Dan Henderson received a TUE for TRT at UFC 139 — however the amendment makes the process more clear. The amendment will still have to be adopted into state law before it can go into effect.

Photo credit: Tracy Lee/CombatLifestyle.com

Josh Barnett is finally licensed to fight in California again following his positive steroid test that derailed his highly-anticipated fight against Fedor Emelianenko at Affliction “Trilogy” several years back.

Barnett appeared before the CSAC today to argue why commissioners should allow him to fight. It wasn’t smooth sailing for Barnett, but ultimately the commission voted 4-2 to grant Barnett a conditional license provided he pass random urine tests prior to competing in the state.

While certain members of the commission certainly wanted him to, Barnett would not admit that he knowingly took steroids when he tested positive. He also didn’t offer any kind of explanation for the failed test.

“I didn’t knowingly or intentionally ingest steroids,” [Barnett] said in his most forceful statement. “I did not take steroids.”

“He does not contest or question the result, nor can he explain it,” [Barnett's attorney] said.

Despite his lack of admission and the commission’s problem with it, the majority felt that Barnett had proven enough since by passing several drug tests in other states and voted to give him another chance, though not without a plea to not let them down.

“Please don’t let us down,” Frierson said. “The reason, we need fights here in California. We need good fights and we need good people.”

The news now paves the way for the May 19 Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix finals to take place in San Jose as rumored.

Image via Sherdog

Well, it looks like Cris Cyborg is about to have another long layoff.

MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani is reporting that the CSAC has suspended Cyborg for a positive steroid test stemming from her most recent Strikeforce title defense against Hiroko Yamanaka.

The California State Athletic Commission announced on Friday that it has suspended Cyborg because her drug test following her most recent fight, a 16-second knockout of Hiroko Yamanaka, came back positive for metabolites of the anabolic steroid stanozolol. The result of the Cyborg-Yamanaka fight will be changed to a no decision.

“Our primary concern is for the health and safety of fighters,” CSAC Executive Officer George Dodd said in a statement. “Anabolic agents and other banned substances put not only the users of those agents at risk, but their opponents as well. The commission simply will not tolerate their use.”

MMA Junkie adds that the suspension will last for one year and she will be fined $2,500. Also, Cyborg’s win over Yamanaka has been changed to a no-contest.

Several fighters in the past such as Sean Sherk and Josh Barnett have appealed positive tests in California before, however it’s unclear if Cyborg plans to do the same. Neither she or her camp have commented on the story as of yet.

Image via CombatLifestyle.com

Update: Strikeforce’s Scott Coker released the following statement after the news broke.

“STRIKEFORCE has not seen the test results regarding Ms. Santos. However, we have a consistent and strong stance against any use of performance-enhancing drugs. We also have a long history of supporting effective drug testing of athletes by authorized regulatory bodies. Therefore, we will closely monitor the matter and will work with the California State Athletic Commission regarding any information we may be asked to provide. We also recognize that Ms. Santos has administrative process rights under California law and we hope that she is not prejudged before she has the opportunity to exercise such rights.”

Little too PC for you? Well, here’s the always outspoken Dana White with his take.

“We were going to hold that division and just do fights with Cyborg whenever there was a new contender,” White told ESPN Radio in Las Vegas. “She’s getting stripped of the title. This pretty much kills the division. I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.”

Cyborg has yet to comment, but here’s Ronda Rousey with her thoughts…

The CSAC righted a wrong today.

If you recall, Mackens Semerzier lost to Robert Peralta at UFC on FOX 1 after Peralta knocked him down with a accidental head-butt. The illegal strike was missed by referee “Big” John McCarthy, but the replay clearly showed that the headbutt, and not a punch as it appeared in real-time, started the final sequence that led to Peralta’s TKO victory.

Semerzier filed an appeal two days after the fight requesting that the result be overturned, and today the CSAC obliged by changing the official result to a no-contest.

Semerzier’s management, Sucker Punch Entertainment, tweeted the news earlier today and called for a rematch. No word yet though if he’ll get it.

Image via Esther Lin for MMA Fighting

Unless you were at the Honda Center or watched the UFC on FOX 1 prelims on your computer, you probably didn’t see the controversial ending to the Mackens Semerzier vs. Robert Peralta fight last Saturday night.

Officially, Peralta won a TKO stoppage in the third round over Semerzier. In real-time, it appeared that Peralta dropped Semerzier with a punch, but as you can see from the slow-motion gif above, Peralta knocked him down with an accidental headbutt.

In California, where the bout was contested, the referee does have the option to stop the fight and review the tape to see if a foul occurred per Rule 519 from California’s Statutes and Regulations.

§ 519. Suspected Fouls.

If an injury occurs due to a suspected foul that the referee was unable to see, the referee may, in his sole discretion, confer with the judges to determine where the foul may be placed. He may consider any, all or none of the opinions expressed in making his determination. The referee may, in his sole discretion, ask for a replay, if television equipment is available, of the technique in question before rendering his decision.

That’s what should have happened, but problem was referee “Big” John McCarthy didn’t see it from the angle he was standing at.

“I did not see their heads clash, causing the knockout,” McCarthy said. “Because if you look where I was at, Robbie’s head was toward me, so Semerzier’s head was on the other side, and they both threw a left hand and then a right hand that came across, and I thought those punches were what caused Mack to be hurt. (I) didn’t even know that it was a headbutt.”

According to CSAC Executive Officer George Dodd, they will review the fight if Semerzier files an appeal, and not surprisingly, he has. It’s my understanding that if Big John had seen it and determined it to be an accidental foul, the fight would have went to the scorecards. But since that small window of opportunity is now closed, the best Semerzier can hope for is a no-decision and a rematch. Considering how obvious it is from the replay, it would be an injustice if the commission doesn’t come to that very conclusion.

Gif via IronForgesIron.com

As we’ve already covered, Chael Sonnen will have to obtain a fight license from the NSAC if he hopes to fight Anderson Silva on Super Bowl weekend in Las Vegas. In most cases that’s just a formality, but with Sonnen it’s anything but given his issues with both the CSAC and NSAC for the past year.

The issue stemmed from testimony Sonnen gave to the California commissioners last year, claiming that NSAC director Keith Kizer had given him verbal approval for a TRT use exemption in a previous fight. Kizer, however, denied ever having any conversation with Sonnen, let alone one about TRT, and claimed that Sonnen would need to resolve his issues with the CSAC before he could work things out in Nevada.

Well, fast forward six months and Sonnen still hasn’t made nice with either commission. So where does that leave Sonnen for a possible rematch with Anderson Silva in Vegas?

That’s a good question because Kizer isn’t talking about it anymore. When asked by Fighter’s Only what their stance on Sonnen was now, Kizer gave the equivalent of “no comment,” only saying that any fighter could apply for a license on Dec. 1.

“Any applicant may apply for a 2012 license as of December 1, 2011,” Kizer responded.

“I cannot really comment beyond that, but I am always hopeful that any applicant can meet his or her burden to obtain a license.”

At the moment, the only person talking about it is Dana White, and he doesn’t understand what the big f-ing deal is.

“Chael Sonnen has paid his dues (and) has done his thing, has done whatever. Floyd Mayweather fights in Nevada. This guy’s been arrested. He’s got 50 lawyers defending him right now and all that crazy stuff and he’s fighting in Nevada. Don’t even get me going on that one. There’s no reason why they shouldn’t license Chael. It shouldn’t even cross my mind. The thought of whether Chael could get licensed in Nevada or California or anywhere else should be the least of my worries. The guy did everything that he was told to do. When guys like Floyd are getting licensed in Nevada, why should I have to worry about Chael?”

Whether Chael has “paid his dues” or not, it’s still up to the commission to license him and you never know what they’re going to do. So for now it’s still a big question mark.

With the application date established though, the problem for Super Bowl weekend is the UFC will probably want to have the main event nailed down by then. It would be awful risky to sign the fight not knowing if Chael could get licensed or not. Maybe they could have some kind of preliminary meeting with the NSAC to figure out whic direction they’re leaning, but beyond that, I really don’t see them taking that risk. That coupled with Anderson Silva’s shoulder issues and general reluctance to agree to Sonnen’s wishes makes me think Silva vs. Sonnen II is very unlikely for Super Bowl weekend.

Here’s Chael Sonnen’s stand-up routine from yesterday’s UFC Fight Club Q&A courtesy of MMA Heat. Sonnen hits a bunch of topics but the highlights included his declaration to burn down Blackhouse and some comments that probably won’t sit too well with the CSAC.

“Is that what you’re talking about?” he prattled on. “Are you talking about the injustice they did to me over the past seven months?

“My phone rings, they call me up and say, ‘Chael, your testosterone level is too high.’ I say, ‘Well, how high was it?’ They say, ’0.7.’ I said, ‘What’s normal?’ They say, ’0.6.’ I said, ‘One-tenth? You’re telling me I’m one-tenth higher than the average man? Re-test that – you must have caught me on a low day.’”

“I told them to feast their eyes and fantasize – I offer no apology. That’s testosterone, ladies and gentleman. And on top of that, what do you mean, higher than the norm? Who are you comparing me to? The pink t-shirt wearing earring guy I just fought?

“They said, ‘Well, Mr. Sonnen, what are you telling us?’ I said, ‘Isn’t it obvious what I’m telling you? Chael Sonnen is too goddamn macho for the standardized testing procedures of the California State Control Board.”

Judging is broken in MMA. Everyone knows that, but how do you fix it?

That’s the million dollar question and California thinks they might have the answer. In a Yahoo! Sports report, Dave Meltzer describes how they’re experimenting with a half-point scoring system in California’s amateur program.

Instead of always writing 10-9 on a scorecard unless there is a completely dominant round with a near finish, you have more options. A 10-9.5 is for a close round, like rounds one and three in Siver vs. Wiman, and rounds one and two in Jackson vs. Machida – both fights in which the person who ended up losing in the current system would most likely have won with the new system.

A 10-9 would be the score for a round that is competitive, but, you have no doubt who won. That is still the score that comes up most of the time with the new system. A 10-8.5 would be for a round where one fighter dominated, but didn’t do enough for a 10-8, notably round two in Wiman vs. Siver, and round three in Machida vs. Jackson.

A 10-8 would be similar to how it is currently used, and you’d even have a 10-7.5 for something more dominant than a normal 10-8 round, but for whatever reason, the fight isn’t stopped.

Interestingly, the plan also includes a fourth judge that scores fights on a points based system to act as a tiebreaker in case of a draw.

The point system was put together by a panel that included well-known referees and judges “Big” John McCarthy, Herb Dean and Nelson “Doc” Hamilton, as well as Steele and George Dodd, the executive director of the California State Athletic Commission.

The system is four points for a knockdown, two for damaging strikes, one for a takedown, one for a sweep, two for grappling into a dominant position (back, mount or side control), and four for a near submission.

“We’re not married to this system,” said Steele. “We’re working on getting it as good as we can, and it’s getting close.”

The plan is to run the experiment for a year, compile the stats and present their findings to high-ranking regulatory officials such as the UFC’s Marc Ratner to evaluate whether the half-point system works better than the current 10-point must system.

Personally, I’m not sure making the system more complex is the answer. I’m a fan of simplicity and would rather see fights scored as a whole based on a clearly specified list of criteria along with more of a commitment to judges’ training and education. But hey, at least someone is trying something. At this point, anything is worth a shot.