UFC Holly Holm Sponsored by Supplement Company That Once Sold SARMs and Synthetic Steroids

Holly Holm shocked the world when she knocked out the once seemingly invincible Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 on November 21, 2015. Holm became only the second UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion in its history after handing Rousey her first-ever defeat in the octagon.

UFC Holly Holm fueled by Intel Pharma supplements

While most people praised her performance and marveled at her upset of Rousey, there were some people already some people looking for ways to knock the newly-crowned champion off her pedestal. One of the most common strategies to accomplish that has been to find a way to link the target to banned performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). And that is what they tried to do.

It’s usually a sports writer looking for a sensationalistic doping story involving a celebrity athlete on steroids or PEDs. Holm was definitely a newly marketable celebrity. But did she use steroids? USA Today sports writer Josh Peter failed to find a smoking gun but he did his best to prove guilty by association.

Peter discovered that one of Holm’s sponsors had previously manufactured several drugs that were banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Holm is sponsored by Intel Pharma and Intel Pharma once sold these prohibited synthetic drugs as “dietary supplements”.

USA Today called out Intel Pharma for selling selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs). SARMs are essentially anabolic steroids because they act on the androgen receptor (AR). This is how regular anabolic steroids exert their muscle-building actions. However, SARMs lack the chemical structure that defines a steroid substance. Therefore, they can not be called steroids.

This meant that SARMs can be marketed (by pharmaceutical companies, supplement companies and anyone else seeking to make a buck) without the stigma associated with steroids. But just because SARMs aren’t controlled substances like anabolic steroids, it doesn’t make them legal to sell as “dietary supplements”.

Intel Pharma SARMs and synthetic steroids sold by JAK Nutrition

Nonetheless, Intel Pharma sold several SARMs. The products included Intel Pharma Andarine (S4), Intel Pharma Ligandrol (LGD-4033) and Intel Pharma Ostadrol (Ostarine MK-2866). Those weren’t the only illegal and prohibited substances sold by the company.

Intel Pharma also sold the growth-hormone releasing peptide (GHRP) known as MK-677 under the product name Intel Pharma Ibutamoren HGH; the banned stimulant DMAA sold as Intel Pharma Clenadrol; the PPARδ receptor agonist GW-5015 sold as Intel Pharma Carda Rip; the illegal synthetic steroids dymethazine and methylstenbolone as Intel Pharma Phenom; and the illegal synthetic steroid M1AD as Intel Pharma Alphazine.

Intel Pharma Phenom – synthetic steroid product containing DMZ and methylstenbolone

So, Intel Pharma sold and marketed no less than 8 products that were either illegally sold as “dietary supplements”, prohibited by WADA (and therefore UFC), or both. So what the hell was Holm and her manager thinking when they signed a sponsorship contract with Intel Pharma?! This allowed the supplement company to feature Holm in its advertisements as “fueled by Intel Pharma”. Did the owners of Intel Pharma mislead Holm’s camp about the nature of their products? Not at all.

Lenny Fresquez, Holm’s manager, told USA Today that both he and Holm were fully aware of the banned substances sold by Intel Pharma prior to signing a sponsorship contract. However, Fresquez didn’t think it would ever become an issue as long as Holm was careful to avoid using illegal and prohibited products.

“The first question I asked them was how many of these products were banned, and they were up front about it,’’ Fresquez said. “Holly didn’t really use them so it’s not a big deal … I’m sure she didn’t use any of them. She might have taken a picture with one.”

To be fair to Holm, Intel Pharma had discontinued the distribution of most of these products at the time of the sponsorship deal. None of the illegal and/or prohibited products are currently listed on the company’s website.

Landon Suggs, the founder and chief executive officer of Intel Pharma, claimed that the company had stopped selling SARMs in June 2015. He also claimed it had issue a recall of all SARM products as part of the industry’s “self-regulation”.

However, at the time of the USA Today report, a few of Intel Pharma’s SARM products were still available for purchase on the website of one of Intel Pharma’s retailers. For example, JAK Nutrition listed three SARMs by Intel Pharma for sale to visitors. (The status has since been changed to “out of stock”.)

Fresquez insisted that he only has the best interests at heart of Holm and promised to give more careful consideration to any sponsorship deals in the future.

“My job is to get whatever the best thing is for Holly,’’ Fresquez said. “Now that you’ve raised this concern we’ll definitely take that into consideration more carefully in going forward.”

Fortunately, Holm’s sponsorship deal with Intel Pharma was limited to UFC 193. Hopefully, Holm will be able to move past any controversial association with Intel Pharma as she prepares for what likely be one of the great rematches in UFC history should Rousey attempt to reclaim her title.

Source:

Peter, J. (November 17, 2015). Holly Holm’s endorsement of company linked to banned supplements questioned. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ufc/2015/11/16/holly-holm-ronda-rousey-supplements-banned-usada-wada/75894096/