So let me see if I have this straight; former heavyweight champion and UFC 146 title challenger Frank Mir was granted a therapeutic usage exemption (TUE) for his procedure before his fight with Junior dos Santos last month.
Meanwhile, less than a year after being fired from the UFC due to TRT-related snafu, Nate Marquardt is no longer undergoing testosterone replacement therapy (TRT).
The UFC may not like hearing this, but TRT is a major problem and it only looks like it will get worse in the future.
Marquardt appeared on MMAFighting.com’s The MMA Hour on Monday and told Ariel Helwani that “the right thing for me to do right now is to choose not to do it” in regards to the controversial treatment which is causing waves in the code right now.
Last June, the former UFC middleweight-title challenger was pulled from his bout with Rick Story the day before the contest.
His testosterone levels were higher than the acceptable standards in the State of Pennsylvania, where the two were set to headline a UFC television event.
In the subsequent fallout, Marquardt and his team said the fighter suffered from low testosterone and that TRT was required to help him counter the effects of his condition.
Marquardt hasn’t fought in the time since he was unceremoniously fired from the UFC, having signed with the UK-based organisation BAMMA without setting foot in their cage.
He was re-signed by Zuffa to the Strikeforce brand earlier this year and will face unbeaten Tyron Woodley for the vacant welterweight title at next month’s Strikeforce event in Portland, Oregon.
The news that the 33-year-old Marquardt is no longer using TRT comes just a handful of days after it was discovered that Frank Mir was undergoing the same treatment in advance of his bout with Junior dos Santos.
While Mir was tested repeatedly, leading up this his bout with dos Santos (and once again following the contest) without incident, the fact that TRT is becoming so prevalent in Mixed Martial Arts is alarming and begs for further investigation.
I do not understand how so many fighters are suddenly discovering they have low testosterone.
It evidently wasn’t an issue for Mir six months ago when he defeated “Minotauro” Nogueira at UFC 140 in Toronto or at any point in his career previous to that.
But all of a sudden, it’s now something that has to be addressed.
When making their case for a TUE, most fighters offer some form of the “bring my levels back up to normal” explanation: “I have low testosterone and need TRT to get me back to where I should be”.
The question is, should these guys be allowed to “bring their levels back to normal” in the first place?
My answer is no, without exception.
Your body is producing low testosterone for a reason – age, previous steroid abuse, legitimate medical condition – but that doesn’t mean that you should be able to say “Well that puts me at a disadvantage, so I’d like to use synthetic testosterone to level the playing field”.
You shouldn’t be able to get a doctor’s note to help you stay competitive, but that seems to be where this is heading.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission seems to be handing out TUEs pretty readily these days and it’s frustrating.
After years of never hearing of fighters suffering from low testosterone, it’s suddenly a widespread condition afflicting numerous athletes on the UFC roster.
I don’t buy it and I don’t like that it’s becoming so prevalent in the sport.
You should have to compete with the levels your body is naturally producing, period.
Low testosterone? Too bad.
If you think that puts you at a disadvantage, then stop fighting.
Simplistic? Maybe, but it’s sure better than having a boatload of highly skilled athletes trying to “maintain competitive balance” by receiving testosterone injections throughout their training camps.
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