Just when you thought the heavyweight division of the UFC was starting to come around, another champion looks like he will be KO’d by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Tim Sylvia’s announcement that he had taken steroids—winstrol to be exact—in an effort to tone his physique after his stunning knockout of previous champ Ricco Rodriguez throws the proverbial monkey wrench into the plans for UFC 45 in Sylvia’s old stomping grounds of New England. The “Maine-iac” was to headline the show but will most likely be suspended and possibly stripped of his title.

While this new dilemma really isn’t anyone’s fault at Zuffa, it is just another of a long list of incidents that have plagued the patron saints of MMA here in North America.

After a continuous parade of heavyweight champs were unable to defend their belts, either in the ring or because of athletic commission sanctions, Tim Sylvia looked like a marketable guy who could sit atop the division and generate some interest for the UFC.

Think again.

Sylvia’s positive test has thrust the steroid issue back into the spotlight that shone on former UFC champ Josh Barnett who also tested positive in March of 2002. Unlike Barnett, Sylvia has vowed to comply with whatever sanctions the NSAC hand down.

I talked with Sylvia’s manager Monte Cox early Wednesday morning and he informed me that Tim will indeed have a hearing on October 15 before the Athletic Commission to determine what sanctions will be levied against him.

Cox said he expects at least a six month suspension but that there is a possibility of nine months, a la Fernando Vargas, or even a year-long suspension if the NSAC really wants to make a statement against performance enhancing drugs.

While in Las Vegas he will also meet with UFC brass about the title situation. The Team Extreme fighter and his camp claim that they should not have to relinquish the title since he captured it in a match in a state that required testing and that he subsequently passed. The length of his suspension may have a lot to do with the outcome of the heavyweight title.

I can not see Zuffa being able to let a fighter hold a title while he is unable to defend it for such a long period of time and with the fiasco that was the light heavyweight interim title I don’t think we will see that again in the UFC.

So where does that leave Zuffa with UFC 45? With Matt Hughes and Frank Trigg as the only viable headline match up, that’s where. Know I love to watch Hughes fight as much as the next MMA enthusiast but lets not kid ourselves, he is not a big draw outside of hardcore MMA fans. It is a sad state of affairs when one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world but it is the truth.

Poor old Zuffa. They are like the Chicago Cubs, loveable losers who do their best but no matter how hard they try something is always standing in the way of success. As fans we have come to expect the unexpected and here it is again, rearing its ugly head at the most inopportune of times.

With the 10th anniversary show just over six weeks away and their rising heavyweight star on the sidelines indefinitely, this looks like the UFC 40 aftermath all over again. A tremendously successful show that many hoped would be the momentum generating event towards main stream acceptance only to be followed by an event that turns out to be little more than a blip on the MMA radar screen.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out, whether Zuffa can scramble to sign a big name to anchor the big anniversary show, what happens with Sylvia and the title and what this will do to the momentum gained from UFC 44. Stranger things have happened but just like the Cubbies fans, when all is said and done, I have a feeling MMA fans in North America will be crying in their beers again.

Then again the Cubs still have a chance to win the World Series this year. Yeah right!

Greg Savage volunteers for the Sherdog random drug testing just a LITTLE too frequently.