Reem was blatantly using PED's during the USADA era

[bambammccoy]

Yeah way too many people think USADA = no PEDs. These anti doping agencies make it harder for most of the roster (who are all poor) to get away with cheating, but those with money can get past it with steroids they don't test for.

Which compounds do you think UFC fighters can't afford that USADA doesn't test for? PEDs are cheaper than natty supplements. Newer "designer" peds are cheaper than the ones that have been around a while because you can't prove it won't cause a tumor in 5 years. They are using drugs that have 50+ years of research and trial and error and bloodwork interpretation to go off of.

USADA is beatable af but using one of the 20 something compounds USADA didn't test for seems like it makes sense but it isn't actually applicable or a good idea and athletes know this already.

 

[Goutfather]

He actually looks like he may have some sort of health issues now, to me.

He looks emaciated.

could be. it’s possible his doctor had a talk with him and told him that being that large is bad for his heart. an extra 50 lbs of muscle is better than 50 lbs of fat, but it’s still a lot of work to pump all that blood through your veins.

 

[colorles]

Is this seriously news to you? lol This was absolutely not a thread worthy topic.

It's professional sports... if you think that all athletes who pass are "clean", you are living in a fantasy land. There is too much money on the line and too stiff of competition to not be trying to get every possible advantage you can. Just like with financial crime, those breaking the law will always be the driving force behind innovation and those trying to enforce the laws are simply reactive to these changes... there will always be new drugs, new masking agents, and just general corruption to worry about. There will always be "cheating" to some level so it is a waste of time/energy to worry about demonizing the select few who get caught.

The thing that is most funny about all of this is how completely brainwashed/ill informed people are about steroids. It's like they think that a fighter is trying to become a body builder and will turn up looking like The Incredible Hulk for his next fight because he took steroids when in reality, they are primarily used for healing injuries (i.e. making it to your event so you can get paid/compete) and can be be completely safe if TAKEN AS PRESCRIBED.

The whole "unfair advantage" bs is grossly exaggerated and just a hold-over from the Cold War days where steroids were treated as a buzz word on the level of "commie" or "iron curtain" lol and people still hold onto this completely outdated notion that "clean fighters" are just having steak and eggs (and maybe a whey protein shake) during camp when in reality, EVERY fighter is taking mass amounts of unnatural supplements; the legality of which is completely arbitrary and heavily influenced by corporate corruption.

Really, the entire "anti-doping" effort has become a major industry itself (how much do you think USADA charges for a piss test compared to your local health clinic?) so it is likely people will never stop overreacting to this non-issue as long as there are people out there benefitting from keeping steroids forbidden but honestly, we have overcorrected this issue so much that it is actually starting to hurt athletes. The insane levels of unnatural training that goes on in modern day is leading to extremely negative long-term health effects for athletes who must push themselves to the brink in order to even have a chance at winning but oh no... can't do whatever you can to heal your body... has to be from our approved list of chemicals, not your chemicals

Go look at post-retirement Tour de France competitors and see that we have gone too far towards "clean sports".

to sum this man's accurate post up:

1) sports is a high stakes arms race with millions of dollars on the line

2) athletes take PEDs so they can heal and recover to both train harder, and also to cope with very demanding schedules of play

3) high level athletes are, actually, not healthy but insanely over trained and PEDs help them accomplish this and make millions of dollars (well, just the ones that make it), at the expense of long term health

and once you start using PEDs, there is no going back and it is why even in retired athletes, trt is so prevalent - not to mention viagra

 

[nately]

He still posts work out videos all the time and promotes a vegan diet.

He said he's 215lbs, must be pretty similar to what he weighed in his pride days where he looked pretty natural compared to his UFC run.

If he's actually 215, then he's probably still juicing. A ripped 215 pounds at 6'3'' is actually very impressive.

 

[Ladder Master]

Pride 33 2007

Spoiler

2011

Spoiler

 

[rakeleaves]

Retired reem looks like a normal dude (who isn't fat), even more muscular than normal. Fact is he went off whatever he was on, cleaned up his diet (yes, vegan is generally healthier), and dropped his calorie count. He's smart enough to know that walking around at 240lbs+ is not optimal for health, especially with a history of PEDs. Lighter = less load on the heart to carry and less calories consumed on average daily = more longevity.

 

[krelianx]

idk he looks like he did in Pride before he started juicing. I hope he's okay.

He doesn't look like he did in Pride, are you crazy? :S

 

[colorles]

i've been 290 plus and jacked before - had to promise my grand ma not to get north of 300 pounds lol. I had roughly the muscularity of, say, Vagab Vagabov

but a much bigger frame with much wider rib cage and clavicles and much longer arms, hence my weight being so high

it was kind of a pain in the ass keeping my weight up that high. my metabolism has always been through thr roof so i had to more or less always be eating. was only doing body weight exercises a few times a week (but with good intensity) and the occasional "chechen workout" of basically fucking around with a bunch of large pieces of granite rocks, tree trunks and logs, and sometimes cars. would also be sprinting and doing interval training and sprints, and a few days a week of mid distance running (usually a hard two or three miles but no more at that time). but all and all just eating a ton and sleeping a ton.

did that for a few years before saying fuck it at some. starting swimming at the beach a lot, running more and more mid distance, and not being so crazy with the calories. eventually cut out all the body weight exercises as well and really any form of lifting including rocks and stuff. (well other than whatever manual labor I do)

the weight tapered off over time, but eventually got down into my historic weights of 220s in really trim, mid distance running shape - that is what most people would call downright skinny with minimal muscle and BMI mass. in the summer especially if i was sweating a ton and trying to fuck around with weight cutting, i'd get to 215 or below.

i can say it is way more convenient to not have to think about eating all the time, and just run and swim and do what i want and eat when i am hungry - but enough to still heal of course. way less stress on the body as well

and the real kicker is i'm not even really weaker than i was then: i've fucked around on occasion with lifts and can still, with the levarage my body frame provides me, pick shit up it you know what i am saying. i could always grapple, i could always bring the heat with my hands. this stuff is all natural, my frame provides all of this

the only thing i had more of when i was heavy was a heavier anchor. just more mass which...does mean something. but i also couldn't change direction like fucking Messi at 290 plus

all and all, would recommend being in trim, mid distance running shape.

all the best of health to Overeem. fucking fighters' fighter

 

[MEAN357]

He actually looks like he may have some sort of health issues now, to me.

He looks emaciated.

He's vegan so this checks out

 

[colorles]

He's vegan so this checks out

yeah he looks fine...considered a career as a combat sports athlete and the amount of PEDs he's used

 

[ChimRichalds]

I assumed this was known, and I give no shits whatsoever. Horse meat Reem was a monster.

 

[don't ask]

He doesn't look like he did in Pride, are you crazy? :S

Yeah, he does:

 

[hahahayeah]

pretty crazy post gyno surgery pecs too.

 

[Iroh]

Yeah, hopefully I'm wrong.

But his weight loss doesn't just look like he stopped juicing or training. It looks like what you often see when someone is battling a serious health issue.

Again, I do hope it isn't the case, but I have a weird suspicion.

It looks like he went vegetarian, because he did.

 

[Brigfa2]

Everyone of them are using, but only couple of them are dumb enough to get caught

 

[Cowboy Kurt Angle]

Mind you he was one of the few people who popped for peds before Usada, he had a title shot against JDS but then got busted, and then came back off the sauce and got koed by Bigfoot

 

[MMAFanCal]

Despite juicing, no one can deny he was genetically one of the most gifted athletes. 99% of athletes who juice, don't get anywhere near the level Overeem got to. The guy ate a lot of horse meat, but worked insanely hard and gave spectacular fights to the fans to remember.

 

[colorles]

Despite juicing, no one can deny he was genetically one of the most gifted athletes. 99% of athletes who juice, don't get anywhere near the level Overeem got to. The guy ate a lot of horse meat, but worked insanely hard and gave spectacular fights to the fans to remember.

the guys frame is not that big...but his genetics for putting on muscle were elite. looks like an action figure

 

[don't ask]

Despite juicing, no one can deny he was genetically one of the most gifted athletes. 99% of athletes who juice, don't get anywhere near the level Overeem got to. The guy ate a lot of horse meat, but worked insanely hard and gave spectacular fights to the fans to remember.

He made it to the top of kickboxing and MMA without roids, so adding roids really put him over the top. Most people need roids to climb as high as he did naturally.

 

[maximus__]

We have all speculated that fighters are still on cycles(because they are) during the USADA era, but had to take a little more precaution compared to the older testing style, which is taken around fight week. Fighters had to be smarter about cycling on and off and timing things to minimize a detection window.

Pre USADA Reem was blasting steroids, USADA reem was probably microdosing TRT and doing other things like EPO, Now that he is retired and downsizing, we can see what a truly natty Reem looks like.

Ubereem(2008-2012)

Econoreem(2013-2021)

Natty retired Reem(2021-Present)(Right picture is late Econoreem)

Pretty clear cut case opf PED abuse when you shrink that much post retirement. Most natural fighters actually get bigger when they retire because they aren't doing all the cardio they were doing as a fighter.

He became a vegetarian and stopped eating horse meat.