Light heavyweight James Irvin has tested positive for Methadone and Oxymorphone, following his first round technical knockout loss to Anderson Silva at UFC Fight Night 14 on July 19, according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC).
Methadone and Oxymorphone are often used to treat chronic pain.
The “Sandman” has 20 days to respond and request a formal hearing to dispute the finding. If the ruling is upheld after the hearing he faces a possible fine and suspension.
All of the other fighters tested on the card came back clean.
Stay tuned for more on this developing story.
Note that we passed along a story earlier today that the 11 fighters tested for the Spike TV special event tested clean for steroids and drugs of abuse. That was inaccurate … those tests were just for steroids.
121 Comments »
wow. tough shit
that must hurt similar to Silva’s punch
He was just getting ready for the pain that silva was going to inflict on him!
my thought exactly.
Yeah, you take Oxycontin, loads of percocet, or phentynol for chronic pain!!!!
Methadone is PRIMARILY used for junkies ADDICTED to opiates(heroin, pain pilss, etc, etc….
See, the UFC knows what they are doing. They must of known he was a freakin mess and an easy win for Silva!!
what a freaking JOke! Told all u that he had no business fighting Silva (but I got crucified on here for it). UFC gives this guy the opportunity of a life time, and this is how he repays the company? What a tOOL!!
the occasional percocet is understandable, but Methadone? THats for junkies!
Eiother Cut him, or send him back top fighting C level fighters on UFN undercards!
what a joke! He was given the opportunity of a life time by the UFC although he never earned it, and this is how he repays the UFC.
Methadone is not really taken to get high, like percs, oxy’s or Fetanol loly pops. Methadone is used to treat Heroin and opiate addiction. I wonder what skelatons he has in his closet!
awwww c’mon john, don’t act like your the only one that called it. Everybody said Anderson would win, becuase he’s anderson. Saying that you got crucified for saying anderson would win, just dont remember that ever happening.
I didn’t know Irvin was a junkie!LOL!
no, thats why he took them…in preparation for silva’s punch
A junkie doesn’t get hurt…Hehe!!
unless you have so many track marks that your arms start to fall off
Hey Watz been up brendan? Long time no hear!!
been around, gettin on peoples nerves… you know
When they showed countdown to Silva-Irvin they showed way to much of James Irvin, and for what?…. An @ss kickin’.. he needs to be on an undercard
like all the other fighters who test positive… LOSERS!
Wait, I thought they all tested clean? LOL!
What is that? Is that some type of anabolic agent?
Methadone is used to get heroin and other opiate-dependant addicts off of heroin/opiate-based-drug-of-choice (such as oxycontin). I am not familiar with Oxymorphone, but the obvious guess is that it is some type of pain killer.
Not many doctors prescribe Methadone in tablet form. It is usually found in liquid form and is dispensed from a “Methadone Clinic” where patients go there evey morning to get medicated. When you have clean urines, you get take home bottles and eventually just go once a week until you decrease your dose enough to the point that you no longer need it.
Hopefully, since then, Irvin has gotten a script of about 1,200 oxycontin 80’s to try and help ease the pain inflicted by Anderson’s fists.
He CRUMBLED from one punch.
Irvin was on top of his world for a few mths there and in a few days he’s at a low point. The quick KO was bad enough and now this.
I cant believe I bet on a methadone junkie.
I can’t believe you bet against Silva.
I just bet to see if I’d get lucky on the underdog.
i cn’t believe it, i could of had a V-8
I think he goes to the same doctor Anna Nicole did.
Methadone is used extensively for chronic pain. Its use for chronic pain by far surpasses it use in heroin addicts. It is long acting and not euphoric. It does, however, create a physical dependence. My guess is that he was training through a lot of pain. I guess the other option is just that the dude is addicted to pain killers.
He may be addicted to opiates, wheter just pain pills of a heroin addict. Most likely addicted to pain pills. and if that is the case the “dope sickness” you get from opiate adddiction is the worst flu and sick you have EVER had!!! You basically are bed ridden!!! So, if thats the case I can see Irvin taking metahadone to feel “normal” so he could fight and at least make a pay aday before getting kicked out of the UFC
And the ONLY way to get rid of it is take methadone and you feel “normal” again….or take NO opiates for a month or so
yeah, Methadone isnt really used to get high. Its more for addicted junkies trying to get off of the drugs. Percs, oxy’s and Fetanol are for getting high.
I dont know what Oxymorphone is, but if I had to guess I would say that it is a type of percocet like oxycodonem hydrocodone which come in forms of vicodin, endocettes, rocacettes and about 10 other different types of percs.
ViolentMike’s comments above are pretty much spot on. I am posting to address a couple of things he wasn’t sure about or didn’t cover…no disrespect intended to him or anyone else. It is a bit long-winded and doesn’t really relate to the whole issue of Irvin’s failed test and the implications that resulted.
All of the drugs are opioid analgesics, derived from the opium poppy or, less commonly, synthetically. They are, of course, highly addictive and many who receive them, even from reputable physicians/nurses while under closely-scrutinized treatment, become hooked.
The other main type of painkillers are the NSAIDs, Non-Steroidal AntiInflammatory Drugs, which are less effective and often cause intestinal distress/ulcers. They are usually prescribed with food in order to lessen the irritation to the linings of the GastroIntestinal tract (GI), but especially the stomach where most of the drug is broken down/absorbed into the bloodstream.
As for Methadone, it is used to allow those who desire to break their dependence on the opiate narcotics without the severe effects of withdrawals and also diminishes the likelihood of relapses. Success rate is very high if the recovering addict stays on the Methadone, which is itself an addiction of sorts. It is most common to receive Methadone in a liquid form as it has a higher efficacy due to the fact that it is more rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream.
This is akin to heart medications that are sublingual (under the tonuge) or respiratory medications that are inhalants (puffers/nasal sprays) where immediate relief is a priority to the well-being of the patient. As mentioned earlier, it is something of an addiction and the one-a-day ritual and its fast acting liquid form give the patient a quick counter to the withdrawals that would otherwise be present. Having the treatment take effect quickly is thus most important during the initial phase of treatment where cravings are most severe, and giving the addicts the best chance to beat their addictions.
Apparently Methadone does not taste very good, even when mixed with a fruit juice or fruit drink like Tang, but I have spoken with numerous former addicts who are very grateful to have gotten off of their former drug of choice despite the daily ritual of taking Methadone and its poor taste.
Hopefully this post answered any questions that might have remained. Online resources like Wikipedia, The Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins and other can give much insight to how the drugs and their cures work within the body if anyone should desire to learn more.
Sorry for the length of the post…
methadone is a pain reliever for severe pain and oxymorphone is like a cousin to morphine.both or big time pain killers.i seriously doubt his is trying to kick a needle habit and got this $hit on the side for something.if he had went to a doctor with any kind of pain needing either one of those two drugs he would’nt have been cleared to fight in the biggest fight of his carreer thus far.either way it was’nt a smart choice.
But the other thread said that everbody was clean. What happened?
What are the performance benefits of those 2 drugs?
No that was just for steroids.
no performance enhancing agents. basically manufactured heroin. apparently he’s a spiker.
A junkie fixer for that matter, wehehe!
Methadone and Oxymorphone are synthetic opiates. Painkillers. They can be got legitimately with a prescription but apparently Irvin didn’t have one, or else the Athletic Commission would have been informed ahead of time.
Doesn’t matter if he has a prescription or not he still is not allowed to take them before a fight or even near a fight really. Like the fighter who had a prescription to Addys but took one three days before a fight and had the fight cancelled
i thought he would have needed them after the fight and not before, and cogito is correct it does not matter if he had a script he is still not allowed to take them prior to the fight.
i think his point was that if he did have a prescription then the athletic commision would have been informed and would have called off the fight
Man whats up with all these positives on the drug tests lately, this is worse than baseball/football/basketball/boxing wtf is going on.
Your right Cannibal and that is probably what he meant. I think if you have a prescription however you can inform the commission and still follow through with the fight however you still cannot take the drug before the fight. That was the example of the addy because the guy had informed the CSAC that he had ADD and was approved for the fight until he failed his drug test 3 days prior to the fight. It also may be possible that he may have taken the drugs after the fight, I thought they immediatly do post fight testing as well.
On such a high profile fight.. you would think..you think Irvin would be extra carfeful from injesteing some funking type horse juice into his system.. and it didn’t help him one bit.
At what point in the article does it state he tested positive for anabolic steroids, i.e. equipoise or horse juice as you call it? You guys are crazy to think that professional athletes are not on painkillers. When there is that much money at stake, you cannot afford to be hurt. Professional football is flooded with it, trust me!
Take an advil.
nice
can you say “cut”. that stuff is some serious narcotics and would help a fighter to deal with pain before, during training, and also during the fight. this is very bad for irvin.
my guess is a training injury and he didn’t want to turn down the biggest fight of his career. Damn, guess he should have decided otherwise. I don’t think we’ll see Irvin in the Octagon for a while.
could be… mark kerr used to do the same sh!t. then again there’s always the possibility that he’s a junkie, afterall methadone is what they prescribe to heroin junkies trying to kick the habit, makes the withdrawls less severe.
Haven’t seen too many heroin addicts, but I can’t imagine too many of them walk around shredded at 205 lbs?
take a look at Kerr in his prime
Methadone means he’s a former heroin addict and indicates he’s clean (hopefully) and is taking it to help him stay clean. I wanna say he mentioned something about it - not specifically- but alluded to it during the countdown show. The Oxymorphone is a pain killer (a cousin of morphine), pretty strong stuff but if he is a former addict he needs alot more than most people because he receptors are shot. It’s a double edged sword- when you’re an addict you feel more pain and need more pain meds all for the same reason.
I’m not a doctor but Methadone to me is for Junkies as a substitute for Heroin.
However, after a little research, they both can be used as a chronic pain killer.
I’m guessing he broke something before the fight, otherwise I’m stuck
Even if your right.. Hermes may of had a similiat arugement..he got hurt during trianing and wanted to recover faster..These word s are a bit too scientific for the kid..Whatever it was ..it was an illegal substance..right? AT least it was wasnt weed.. cuz if this was another dimension.. and if he had beaten Silva.. to ruling would of been reversed. to a No contest.
He broke his foot a few months back training in Thailand. I assume it was not completly healed, but he could not pass up the opportunity of a lifetime to fight Anderson.
Exactly BNF.
Irvin wouldn’t get the chance to fight a champion again even though Silva is not champion of that weight division.
It may have been his foot, when he received the first punch from Silva, he was wincing bad. Obviously the punch can do that but I’m thinking it may be when Silva grabbed his leg. But then again he wouldn’t have kicked with it in the first place. Who knows, he obviously felt it necessary to take them.
PhilQNY: I’m not suggesting that he has a reasonable excuse, I’m simply throwing theories around as to why he took them.
I just checked the archives and it was reported on May 20th that he had a broken foot. 2 months is not enough time to heal, especially when 1 of those months you are training for Anderson Silva. Can you really blame him? It is still a stupid thing to do, but I can understand a little better now.
That foot was the reason why he threw such a lazy kick that Anderson caught so easily. Not to take anything away from Anderson, but this is the only possible scenario I can come up with.
Hopefully he has some kind of medical condition and all will be well. If not another one bites the dust
I knew he was on something when he claimed he was going to beat Silva in the clinch! LOL (Just Kidding).
It’s actually sad that he tested positive. I hope there’s a reasonable explaination for him testing positive.
Just did a search on wiki and Oxymorphone is a pretty powerful painkiller. They do relate it to morphine and that it can cause dependancy like morphine. I’m sure interested to know where this one goes.
Ask Wiki where it goes
Injection OR…Soppository. I hope the pills are small.
he probably decided he didnt wanna feel the pain of punches from anderson LOL i know i would probably do that too xD anderson hits hard..
i hope they keep him around though win or lose he has some highlight reel knockouts haha
Painkillers aren’t performance enhancing drugs and neither is weed.
It depends on how you want to define ‘performance enhancing’. If he broke his foot and can’t walk right–let alone kick–because it hurts and then takes some pain-killers and is suddenly able to run around and kick, it would seem the argument could be made that they are ‘performance enhancing’.
Now as for the weed? I’m sure it would help him eat twice as many Doritos.
Good point, That was the commission’s argument for taking the win away from Nick Diaz when he fought Gomi.
Man i love that fight, such a shame that the best night of Diaz’s life was tarnished for smoking weed.
Sick submission, i was tapping watching it let alone getting choked out.
Anyway ho hum i digress.
Basically like BNF and Auto said ^ he was coming in with an injury and use the meds to eliminate the pain to help him train.
Feel slightly bad for him really, almost quite honourable that he didn’t want to pull out and f*ck over the UFC and fans.
Its very very different to the Sherk, Timmy, Bonnar situations IMO.
Lets not forget he broke his foot which caused him to pull out of the fight against Rashad in the UK ppv a few months back. It was probably still bothering him and he just took these b/c of the great opportunity to main event a ufc event. Tough break Sandman, time to take your suspension, and if the UFC feels like making an example out of you, take your release too. Hopefully he comes back but with a stacked LHW division dont be surprised if we’ve seen the last of the Sandman in the octagon.
He is also best friends with scott smith. wouldnt besurprised to see him in elite xc
YO GUYS CHK THIS OUT :
THE DUDE BETS WEED AT A CASINO.. he thinks he bets too much weed and takes some back!! When theydo the close up of the bag.. that buddy looks good. He had more then an ounce on him.. and because he tried to bet..they’re going to charge him with intent to distribute!!!! lol!!!!!
CHK IT OUT:
http://www.jokeroo.com/funnyvideos/man_bets_with_weed_at_casino.html
5 Card Bud!!! How high was he? What the f@#k was he thinking!?!?!?!?
That was too funny Phil!
HAHAHA what was he thinking??? Probably some good kronik! I fret If I have a roach in my car. Where can I get a cannabis club card?
CALIFORNIA!
Maybe he was asking the dealer if he could take some cards to use as roaches (don’t know what you guys call them lol)
Whilst we are off subject a little, here is something that is bugging me: -
Everytime I weigh myself on the bathroom scales, I find myself posing as if participating in a UFC weigh-in. My pose of choice is AA’s. Am I alone lol???
yes
I do it also auto haha, not sure what fight it was, but I do the Drew Ficket, when he slaped his knee then does he abs pose haha.
umm lol maybe not fully alone there
At least I’m not alone Chase lol.
Yeah haha, it just feels like i need to do it haha.
Mine just happens automatically, no pun intended.
Just before I step off, I raise my arms to the sides and out pops my tongue LMAO
Same with me, Like I can’t help but do it haha, pluse it’s pretty funny. the tounge thing is pretty funny also haha.
Dammnit! That’s cool. All I ever do is get mad at my scale and scowl at it intensely.
Ha ha, thats so fu*king funny, proper made me laugh out loud in an otherwise boring day at work…
I DO IT TOO!!!!!!!!!
I like a bit of a Saun Sherk tense up personally.
While were on the subject, now this is really sad…
Walking to the train station i have to go through a tunnel/underpass which serves as a perfect walk in, i have to battle to not raise my arm and shadow box as i burst out into the arena (i mean park) on the other side.
For this i like a bit of ‘Welcome To The Jungle’, a la Rich Franklin at 77 banging out of my IPOD.
There i said it, thats the first step admitting youve got a problem!
LMAO NickJ.
I know the type of underpasses you are talking about so can understand the temptation.
I’m luck enough that the scales face the wall so the wife doesn’t see the tongue.
What a relief to know I’m not the only one with a problem lol
lol
the bud did look good, lol
LMAO. good vid phil, keep em comming.
this reminds me of that cops episode when the dude had the joint stuck behind his ear, and the cop asked him if he ever used drugs. the dude “said ive never used drugs in my life” oe something like that with the joint clearly sticking out between his ear.
Lol…I want in on that guy’s home games.
Nice! We had a guy here in Richmond a few years ago who won “Dumbest crime of the year” in our local paper. He was on the way in to the courthouse for a traffic ticket and was emptying his pockets for the guards before going thru the metal detector and forgot he had an 8-ball in his pocket. He puts it in the tray w/o thinking and gets slammed up against the wall and arrested! I LOVE stupid people, they make me feel so much better about myself.
At least he can take comfort in knowing that he is now one of Kid Rock’s heroes.
Nice.
if irvin took these med right before the fight, they would be considered performance enhancing. alot of these painkillers like vicodin and percocet speed you up and also dull alot of pain. the meds he took are alot stronger too. he cheated and should be treated as such. theres no way in hell that irvin didnt know that these drugs were illegal and probably hope that they might go undetected or not be tested for.
These definitely don’t speed you up. I work in an ER and what he’s on makes you nod off standing up. He’s obviously been on the Methadone for a while (at least I can’t imagine it’s new), maybe because of the short notice of the fight he miscalculated this time. Who knows? I don’t know about the Oxymorphone, but it must suck to have to put your sobriety on the line every time you fight. I wonder if the commission will change this to a no contest….
thank you! i’ve been on percocet and vicodine for kindney stone and mos def DO NOT speed you up.
and you dont get high on those at all? not even at when u first started using them?
Nope - they really make you drowsy; knocked me out. I guess opiates should get the assist on Silva’s win.(not that he needed any help)
Watching Silva at 205 makes me want to see him fight Machida. I think it’d be a great technical matchup.
It’s not enough to get knocked out in the first round. Poor Idiot.
Rob Dib
http://www.break-your-face.com
Mania, is there any reason why most of my posts are delayed or not shown at all??
I’m starting to get a little offended Mamma Mia
Happens to me ALL THE TIME!!! and it gets old
he had to been in some serious pain of some sort.oxymorphone is like a cousin to morphine.and methadone is some killer $hit as well.i dont think he is a junkie or is trying to rehab a needle habit.he prolly got this stuff on the side cuz if went to a doctor they prolly wouldnt let him fight the biggest fight he’s ever had.either way it wasnt the smartest move.
now thats my boy, back off everybody he was taking pain meds ahead of time because he knew his ass was gonna be hurtin. he was just allowing enough time to get the meds in his system, cant say i blame him. I would imagine when joe silva calls to book opponents for anderson silva after they first shit their pants they go ahead and start a healthy dose of pain meds
violent mikes post 3 or 4 in is spot on accurate! although i have never heard of it being used as a pain killer.its always used 2 get off of heroin or heavy duty pain killers!
copy and paste
Veteran fighter Justin Levens, who was scheduled to fight Ray Lazama in an “Affliction: Banned” bout that was ultimately scrapped due to time constraints, tested positive for oxymorphone in a drug test administered at the July 19 event.
wow looks like james irvin isn’t the only one trying to kill the pain.
Methadone is used to treat heroin addictions too.
It tastes like orange juice.
It comes in tablets form and it tastes like orange juice because they “melt” down the tablet in a juice, usually orange juice
This just in…Reports from the Sacamento Bee (newspaper) and local radio broadcast have indicated James (the Sandman) Irvin was picked up by Sacamento Police Department, an Officer was quoted by saying, “Irvin is in custody, during the arrest he was making comments that were inaudiable but sounded like I am a god, and they were just painkillers, that hurts really bad, charlie (sic).” The arrest followed a lengthy stand off with Sacamento Emergency Response Team. Irvin held the group at bay for approximately 4 hours outside the rural Sacamento home reports state.
Ain’t nothin worse then losin like Irvin did, then being exposed as having to cheat to even get there.
how is taking pain medication ‘cheating’????
if that shit dulls pain, then chances are it slows down the body etc which wouldnt be a good look going into a fight.
saying that - doesnt he train out in thailand alot?
theyre big on opium out there (like heroin, which methedone is used as a substitute for addicts).
maybe thats why he went down so quick! In the replay it looked like a short jab that dropped Irvin. Dang!
lol morale gotta be low in the irvin camp!
Oxymorphone, I know is a bit stronger than percocet, and not prescribed as often. I haven’t researched but i believe it is dilaudid..?? I could be mistaken on that. Methadone is no longer a drug that is only given to those addicted to the needle. Given the rise of addiction to the avail. high power opiates (pain pills), many addicts are r/x methadone who have never used needles. This does appear to be a case of someone who does have opiate dependancy issues. If memory serves… Irvin was supposed to fight Silva very soon after Irvin’s k.o. of houston Alexander. It is very possible he could have been dealing with addictive issues at that point, or in the process of even dealing with a training injury. He may have very well went into this fight hoping to beat the test , but knowing he was ‘dirty’. I would take that chance too, to make the biggest payday of my career. maybe all of you guys would have done “the right thing”. I seriously doubt there is 1person on here who knows shit about training at that level!! Keep in mind what you don’t have the ability to do, before flaming on these guys for trying to make it in the fight game. What should he have done. Told dana, “hey I have to go to rehab for a month right now. Give the fight to someone better deserving than myself. But when I get out, I’d be more than happy to fight Anderson” I am not a pro fighter myself, but I don’t see someone making a lucrative living that way.
Methadone is used about 50/50 for addicts as liquid or pain relief as 10mg tablets. It is preferred for low cost and long lasting effect on pain. No high experienced at all unless taken in mass quantities 80-120mg at once. If “high” it would slow him down, not enhance performance. Oxymorphone is not Dilaudid, that would be Hydromorphone. Oxymorphone is a metabolite produced by your liver when taking Oxycodone. This could be anything from percocet to Oxycontin. Methadone is an antagonist while oxycodone an agonist. Therefore using Methadone would block the opiate receptors thus eliminating any effects from oxycodone or oxymorphone (which is also a pain med, but very rare if not impossible to find or have prescribed) so I would beleive it was a metabolite of oxycodone use in this case. My guess is pain medication for a current injury. I wouldn’t be shocked if he actually had prescriptions he kept private. Although, both are very easily found around the hood and that could be just as likely. Anyone out there jumping to the conclusion that he’s a “junkie”, may you never have to experience true pain. Also, I take test results with the grain of salt. the prevalence of false positives is bewildering. More-so if double checked with the LC/MS test. It is supposed to be more sensitive but has a high level of overlap. Using 2 percocets could create a positive in the entire opiate category. Find the one with the highest levels and that is most probably the one used.
wow u know your med terms there huh? either a aspiring doc or addict i sure hope not the later
Just want to clear up a lot of your misconceptions here. While methadone is often used to treat heroin addiction, it is also prescribed as a pain killer to many patients I have seen in the hospital, especially those suffering from chronic pain. The thing I couldn’t believe is that Irvin tested positive for oxymorphone. Oxymorphone is a stronger pain killer than Dilaudid; in turn, Dilaudid is stronger than Morphine. That means Mr. Irvin was taking some seriously strong shit. Best of luck to him!
The bottom line in this issue is that he took something for pain due to a lingering injury (broken foot) and probably got hooked on opiates. He likely took the opiates first to kill the pain and then got off the drugs in the hopes that he would be clean in time for the event, and took the Methadone to deal with his withdrawals.
It doesn’t matter whether or not he had a valid prescription, he was still taking something that is banned/controlled by the athletic commissions. If he was hurt, he should not have been cleared to fight. Had he made known his injuries and ‘come clean’ about using the drugs legally (still against the commission rules) he would not have been suspended, just not cleared to fight until deemed healthy and clean. He was likely looking for a payday and trying to secure his spot within the UFC.
Ultimately, he made the wrong choice if you consider getting caught and suspended. However, I imagine that he was thinking more about his present and future financial well-being in the sport, which led to his failed test.
Drugs are bad, mmmmkay? Sorry, couldn’t resist.
Methadone is not only used for addicts, but it is also used for PAIN, you dumbasses! Don’t talk shit unless you actually know what you are talking about. Methadone is very commonly used for PAIN, so quit assuming it is ONLY used for addiction!
Also, oxymorphone, the main ingredient in OPANA, comes in 5, 10, 20, 30, or 40mg, is a very potent opiate pain killer.
For those morons who keep making up false info about these drugs, now you know the truth!
dilaudid is NOT oxymorphone, dilaudid is in HYDROMORPHONE!
And methadone is NOT an antagonist! It is a potent opioid AGONIST!