UFC Hall of Famer Forrest Griffin disagrees with the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s ban of testosterone replacement therapy, believing there are a lot of misconceptions about the treatment.
In an interview with WHOA TV, the original The Ultimate Fighter explained why he doesn’t think TRT is what most people think it’s cracked up to be (transcription via Mixedmartialarts.com):
Here’s what I don’t understand. What’s wrong with wanting to be better at your job? If I had a dream…you only get one life. That’s it. This life, I didn’t mean to have this s—-y body with s—-y genetics. I wanted a better one. I’ll be honest. I wanted to be much bigger, stronger and faster … It’s not like…people think TRT is for lazy people. No, it’s just you’re just trying to improve yourself. All the drugs in the world ain’t gonna turn a Chihuahua into a Pitbull, you know? I could do all the TRT in the world and Jones would beat my ass every day, all day, but, you know, I could be the best me.
The 34-year-old also took a shot at middleweight contender Vitor Belfort, stating that he gets a bad rap for his TRT usage since “he looks like he might be doing some stunt double work for Incredible Hulk.”
Griffin, who retired after a close decision win over Tito Ortiz at UFC 148 in July 2012, received a TRT exemption from the NSAC for the bout.
The fan-friendly brawler had trouble hanging with the elite UFC talent after capturing the light heavyweight title from Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 86 in July 2008, subsequently getting knocked out by Rashad Evans, Anderson Silva and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
Also worth noting is that Griffin defeated Ortiz (twice) and ex-UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin during that four-and-a-half-year span.
The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt also recorded key wins over Jeff Monson, Chael Sonnen, Rua and Stephan Bonnar (twice) throughout his nearly 11-year fight career.
Griffin was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame with fellow TUF 1 finalist Bonnar on July 6 of last year.
Is Griffin’s stance on TRT a reasonable one, or is his opinion on the issue ignoring several key facts about the controversial treatment?
John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
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