Looks like UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, as well as his striking coach Ray Longo, are not big fans of No. 1 contender Vitor Belfort‘s usage of testosterone replacement therapy.
Tentatively set to face off with “The Phenom” in Las Vegas this May, Weidman went off on his hard-hitting Brazilian counterpart last week, per Fox Sports.
He’s failed a drug test before. He’s on TRT now. I don’t agree with TRT to begin with, so him failing a drug test and being on TRT, I don’t really like it. So I appreciate there will be a commission making sure he’s doing things right. I don’t have high testosterone at all. I’m completely fine. I guarantee his testosterone on TRT is two or three times higher than mine. I wake up and I work hard two or three times a day. I don’t feel that there’s a need for it, and if it comes to point where you need it, then you retire, you don’t fight. Fighting is a sport where strength is important, and if you’re going to have extra testosterone, especially after you’ve been caught cheating, it’s unfair.
Belfort, who is riding a three-fight win streak (all knockouts) over notable fighters in Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold and Dan Henderson, failed a post-fight drug test for the anabolic steroid 4-hydroxytestosterone after his first meeting with “Hendo” in October 2006, per MMA Weekly.
As the 36-year-old Belfort has gotten better with age, 5-1 in his past six fights, many fans, fighters and analysts alike have begun to question the legitimacy of his TRT usage.
Belfort‘s past four fights have occurred outside the United States—the ex-light heavyweight champ hasn’t fought on American soil since he scored a knockout win over Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133 in August 2011.
Longo was much more outspoken on the topic than his star pupil, stating outright that he hopes the Nevada State Athletic Commission does not grant Belfort a TRT exemption during an interview with ESPN.
“I know Chris is beating the guy but why give him an advantage?” Longo said. “Why does he deserve that? All he did was abuse his body with steroids so that now he needs the exemption. It’s bull—-.”
Keith Kizer, the executive director of the NSAC, has stated in the past he has his doubts about Belfort being able to obtain a TRT exemption in Nevada, per Bleacher Report’s Damon Martin.
With this blockbuster middleweight title clash still nearly six months away, there is no question that the topic of TRT will be visited many, many times before fight night.
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
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