The UFC’s unofficial support for Testosterone Replacement Therapy may just have become more or less official. Because the Ontario Athletic Commission doesn’t engage in the pesky business of drug testing, responsibility falls to the UFC to do so. This isn’t the first time this has happened, and certainly the UFC’s own policies have caught fighters doping. But things are a little different now – fighters have a legal means of obtaining synthetic testosterone, the primary component of many anabolic steroids. The flipside of this is that they need to acquire a therapeutic use exemption in order to use TRT, which at least illuminates who is using the stuff to enhance their performance.
The UFC’s unofficial support for Testosterone Replacement Therapy may just have become more or less official. Because the Ontario Athletic Commission doesn’t engage in the pesky business of drug testing, responsibility falls to the UFC to do so. This isn’t the first time this has happened, and certainly the UFC’s own policies have caught fighters doping. But things are a little different now – fighters have a legal means of obtaining synthetic testosterone, the primary component of many anabolic steroids. The flipside of this is that they need to acquire a therapeutic use exemption in order to use TRT, which at least illuminates who is using the stuff to enhance their performance.
Of course, this is bullshit. The UFC is completely capable of disclosing that information. The UFC simply willnot disclose if a fighter requests a TUE. Which is strange, given that Dana White seems to be such a fan of the practice. If TRT is “great,” “absolutely fair,” and “legal,” why bother with the secrecy? It appears to be a tacit admission that the process is, at best, ethically dubious. Which it is – it allows a select group of fighters who possess naturally lower levels of testosterone, possibly resulting from prior steroid use, to use synthetic testosterone during their training camps and daily lives so long as they bring their testosterone levels within normal limits by the time of their fights. Functionally, it’s the same thing as a steroid cycle.
The only positive about TRT is that it’s public. But for UFC 152, thanks to the incompetency of the Ontario Athletic Commission and the UFC’s suspect disclosure policies, it won’t be. You would think that if you had an aging fighter who has bulked up almost twenty pounds from his previous bout – while training with, among others, Alistair Overeem – and is fighting in the main event, you’d want to alleviate any suspicions among observers. But this is the UFC we’re talking about. They don’t handle suspicion; they dismiss it and anyone who bothers to express it.
I have purchased pay per views from the Ultimate Fighting Championship since 1994, where I was welcomed to the sport with Pat Smith turning the face of Scott Morris into a Manwich at UFC 2: No Way Out. It was like heroin after that – I was addicted. Since then, I estimate that I have shelled out well over $5000 on PPVs alone, much less another sizeable chunk of change on tickets to live events and the obligatory UFC merchandise (who can live without the life-sized GSP cardboard cut-out – NOT ME).
Throughout that time I have been an advocate of MMA to the uninformed masses that I’ve encountered at watering holes across this great land. For every, “That UFC shit is just a legalized bar fight” comment, I would swoop in like Dogwelder to defend the UFC and its competitors. It was almost a grass roots effort by the early UFC supporters to educate the ignorant and let them know that this is a real sport filled with unbelievably talented athletes. The edification continues today as many intelligent fans try to shun the perceived stigma that we are a bunch of tatted-up dudes wearing flat-billed TAPOUT hats and driving small-penis-compensating monster trucks while applying ring worm ointment to our wounds.
Then there was the figure-head, the fearless leader that was taking all the media scrutiny head-on and paving the way while holding up his middle finger to the man. After the ZUFFA purchase, Dana White was a perfect fit during the infancy of the UFC’s push towards legitimacy. Adopting rules and weight classes and marketing the shit out of the product culminated in a 7 year deal with FOX and its affiliates. Now the UFC is on the precipice of its fourth nationally televised FOX card and the ratings have plummeted from 5.7 million during UFC on FOX 1 (Cain Velasquez VS Junior Dos Santos) to 2.4 million during UFC on FOX 3 (Nate Diaz VS Jim Miller).
I don’t think it is a coincidence that viewership and PPV buys are down. I have always been a staunch supporter of the brand and even I, a die hard fan, am starting to see chinks in the UFC armor. The reasons have been dissected on CP with various posts but I believe that this is just the beginning of problems for the UFC unless some changes are made pronto. I am not saying that the UFC is in the toilet but as the organization has grown in stature from eviscerating the competition, a standard evolution needs to happen.
So with that in mind, here are five ways that the UFC can move from their current plateau all the way to the mountain top.
(When Zuffa purchased the UFC, Dana White actually had hair. There is no punchline, just a fact worth mentioning.)
I have purchased pay per views from the Ultimate Fighting Championship since 1994, where I was welcomed to the sport with Pat Smith turning the face of Scott Morris into a Manwich at UFC 2: No Way Out. It was like heroin after that – I was addicted. Since then, I estimate that I have shelled out well over $5000 on PPVs alone, much less another sizeable chunk of change on tickets to live events and the obligatory UFC merchandise (who can live without the life-sized GSP cardboard cut-out – NOT ME).
Throughout that time I have been an advocate of MMA to the uninformed masses that I’ve encountered at watering holes across this great land. For every, “That UFC shit is just a legalized bar fight” comment, I would swoop in like Dogwelder to defend the UFC and its competitors. It was almost a grass roots effort by the early UFC supporters to educate the ignorant and let them know that this is a real sport filled with unbelievably talented athletes. The edification continues today as many intelligent fans try to shun the perceived stigma that we are a bunch of tatted-up dudes wearing flat-billed TAPOUT hats and driving small-penis-compensating monster trucks while applying ring worm ointment to our wounds.
Then there was the figure-head, the fearless leader that was taking all the media scrutiny head-on and paving the way while holding up his middle finger to the man. After the ZUFFA purchase, Dana White was a perfect fit during the infancy of the UFC’s push towards legitimacy. Adopting rules and weight classes and marketing the shit out of the product culminated in a 7 year deal with FOX and its affiliates. Now the UFC is on the precipice of its fourth nationally televised FOX card and the ratings have plummeted from 5.7 million during UFC on FOX 1 (Cain Velasquez VS Junior Dos Santos) to 2.4 million during UFC on FOX 3 (Nate Diaz VS Jim Miller).
I don’t think it is a coincidence that viewership and PPV buys are down. I have always been a staunch supporter of the brand and even I, a die hard fan, am starting to see chinks in the UFC armor. The reasons have been dissected on CP with various posts but I believe that this is just the beginning of problems for the UFC unless some changes are made pronto. I am not saying that the UFC is in the toilet but as the organization has grown in stature from eviscerating the competition, a standard evolution needs to happen.
So with that in mind, here are five ways that the UFC can move from their current plateau all the way to the mountain top.
1. DEAL WITH OVERSATURATION (Example A: Deeming matchups like these headliner-worthy.)
There are (and I can’t believe I am saying this) an overabundance of fights provided (both free or PPVs) throughout the Zuffa calendar year, and the fans have been inundated with this variety of contests. The fact that there are three Zuffa-run cards (UFC on FOX 4, UFC 150 and a Strikeforce event) over the course of the next three weeks illustrates my point exactly. Great, right? Well, seeing how it has been a thoroughly mixed bag of good and bad fight cards, it is not all roses. UFC on FOX 2 showcased every fight going to a decision, TUF LIVE tanked, and who could forget the turd in the swimming pool that was UFC 149.
Sure, it is easy to pick on the bad cards, but there is a mammoth quantity of MEDIO-CORE fighters on the roster due to Zuffa buying most of the competition. So the UFC has gone from 19 fight cards (12 PPV mixed with 7 Fight Night/TUF Finales) in 2007 to holding somewhere in the neighborhood of 35 this year (and that is UFC only events). Yes, we all get to see more fights, but I remember when a UFC card was an event in and of itself. It was a special, once-a-month occasion, and now (with the exception of the occasional championship fight) it seems to have grown a bit monotonous. The UFC needs to trim the herd or start a lower level organization for up-and-comers or wash-outs while keeping the cream of the crop for the main cards. I vaguely recall an organization that accomplished this perfectly (Wicked Exciting Cagefighting?). Wonder what happened to those guys.
2. BOOK THE MARQUEE MATCHUPS
Dana White has said on numerous occasions that the difference between the UFC and boxing has a lot to do with promoters as well as the UFC’s ability to put the big fights together. That used to be true. The Potato Nation was fairly vocal about an Anderson Silva vs. GSP bout not that long ago. It never happened. The new flavor of the week is Anderson Silva vs. Jon Jones. That is another fight that is more than likely not going to happen, because as we all know, Bones doesn’t want to risk ruining “his greatness.” Hubris, Jon, it has its pratfalls.
When the UFC brass announcing that the most exciting winner on the UFC on FOX 4 card will be next in line for a LHW title shot, we were all a bit confused. Two things MUST happen for this announcement to hold any credence. First off, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua has to turn Brandon Vera’s nose into Cung Le’s toe and earn the #1 contender status. Secondly, Dan Henderson must land his H-Bomb on the chin of Bones and put him to sleep. Then we get Hendo VS Shogun II for the LHW championship of the world, a notion that has already given me (and all of you people) a half-chub. Let’s be perfectly honest, although it is possible for these scenarios to play out, the likelihood of both materializing is a stretch. The UFC used to make the real main event fights happen. The BJ Penn vs Matt Hughes and GSP fights and the Chuck Liddell vs Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz fights were all must-see TV and the ratings proved it.
Click the “next” tab to learn yourself three more ways the UFC can turn things around…
(On the count of three, I want everyone who is not pulling a fast one to raise their hand.)
If there are two things that we would be willing to bet the house on in light of recent events, it’s that half of the scheduled fights for the next few months will be cancelled due to injury, and the few participants who remain standing after the smoke clears will only be doing so as a result of testosterone replacement therapy. So goes the story for TUF 1 winner and former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin, the most recent UFC behemoth fighter who both filed for and was successful in receiving a therapeutic use exemption for TRT over the past couple months.
(On the count of three, I want everyone who is not pulling a fast one to raise their hand.)
If there are two things that we would be willing to bet the house on in light of recent events, it’s that half of the scheduled fights for the next few months will be cancelled due to injury, and the few participants who remain standing after the smoke clears will only be doing so as a result of testosterone replacement therapy. So goes the story for TUF 1 winner and former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin, the most recent UFC behemoth fighter who both filed for and was successful in receiving a therapeutic use exemption for TRT over the past couple months.
The news that Griffin received a TUE from the Nevada State Athletic Commission for his UFC 148 fight with the now-retired Tito Ortiz was reported by Pro MMA Radio Host Larry Pepe via his Twitter earlier today. Kind of makes you imagine how gassed Griffin would have really been in that third round had he not recently hopped on this bandwagon, but we digress.
We could get into the whole moral debate over this issue, but it would truly be retreading old ground at this point. The truth is, there ain’t much that FoGriff could do to justify his sudden need for testosterone, other than the fact that he’s not 22 anymore. Everyone from Randy Couture to Dana White have stated that TRT is basically a crock of shit excuse for aging athletes to feel younger again, but it’s legal, so whaddayagonnado?! Start juicing up filling out that paperwork now, Stephan, because you’re going to need it if you ever get that rematch.
Express your outrage or support for FoGriff’s plight in the comments section. And happy Friday the 13th, Potato Nation. I leave you with this:
(Fair warning: You DEFINITELY won’t see the compiler’s choice of music coming.)
(Then again, it seems to be working out pretty well for Clay Guida so far.)
Hell must have frozen over, because for once, we are in agreement with Dana White.
We’re not going to waste your time by recounting all of the endless press the issue of testosterone replacement therapy has received as of late, which would take us no less than twenty pages to complete. But needless to say, guys like Frank Mir are proving that damn near anyone can receive a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for TRT if they are willing to fill out the proper paperwork, and we’ve only begun to see the amount of fighters who will likely begin to hop on that bandwagon as time goes on.
But with his win at UFC 148, Anderson Silva basically proved that a vicious knee trumps TRT nearly 100 percent of the time, a notion that the UFC President really wishes he could drive home in one way or another. White recently sat down with ESPN’s Todd Grisham to discuss everything from fighter pay rates to the absolute sack of horseshit that was the Manny Pacquiao/Timothy Bradley decision. Being the polarizing subject that TRT is, Grisham brought up the possibility of the UFC having two fighters currently using testosterone as champions, were Chael Sonnen to defeat Silva and Dan Henderson to defeat Jon Jones, and what White would think of that. And we gotta say, we were rather impressed with Dana’s level-headed response. It was almost as if he had considered both sides of the story, rather than lashing out with personal attacks at the first person to speak up about a slightly sensitive issue. Like we said, the sky must be falling.
A full video interview is below.
(Then again, it seems to be working out pretty well for Clay Guida so far.)
Hell must have frozen over, because for once, we are in agreement with Dana White.
We’re not going to waste your time by recounting all of the endless press the issue of testosterone replacement therapy has received as of late, which would take us no less than twenty pages to complete. But needless to say, guys like Frank Mir are proving that damn near anyone can receive a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for TRT if they are willing to fill out the proper paperwork, and we’ve only begun to see the amount of fighters who will likely begin to hop on that bandwagon as time goes on.
But with his win at UFC 148, Anderson Silva basically proved that a vicious knee trumps TRT nearly 100 percent of the time, a notion that the UFC President really wishes he could drive home in one way or another. White recently sat down with ESPN’s Todd Grisham to discuss everything from fighter pay rates to the absolute sack of horseshit that was the Manny Pacquiao/Timothy Bradley decision. Being the polarizing subject that TRT is, Grisham brought up the possibility of the UFC having two fighters currently using testosterone as champions, were Chael Sonnen to defeat Silva and Dan Henderson to defeat Jon Jones, and what White would think of that. And we gotta say, we were rather impressed with Dana’s level-headed response. It was almost as if he had considered both sides of the story, rather than lashing out with personal attacks at the first person to speak up about a slightly sensitive issue. Like we said, the sky must be falling.
White’s response to the question, which comes at the 8:55 mark, went like this:
The bottom line is, the way that this TRT works, it’s absolutely 100 percent legal with the – let me explain one more thing. We’re regulated by the government. We’re really the only sport that’s actually regulated by the government and the government allows these guys to do this TRT. And basically over the next 10 years, sports science keeps getting better and better and better and the way that TRT works is as we get older your testosterone level drops, and this (TRT) is to replace it. The problem with it is, you got guys going ‘well if this much is good, this (more) must be great. That’s the problem and you will find guys that cheat even with the stuff that’s legal.
White continued that if you need to find a case against TRT usage, look no further than middleweight champ and pound for pound GOAT Anderson Silva:
That’s what we’re trying to – you make a good point and Anderson Silva said it at the press conference the other day. Anderson Silva, the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world has broke every record in the UFC and is the greatest fighter ever in mixed martial arts. He’s 38 years old, people don’t realize that, he’s not 28, he’s 38, and he’s not doing testosterone replacement therapy. This guy comes in 100 percent natural and he beats everybody. And something should be said for that, I don’t disagree. You know the guys who are using testosterone replacement therapy going up against a guy who isn’t, and this guy’s still the greatest in the world. So to me, the bottom line is you don’t need that junk. If you don’t abuse stuff earlier in your career, you’ll never need to use that kind of junk.
When asked if the decision were up to him regarding the legality of TRT in MMA (or at least the UFC), White stated that it would in fact be illegal.
As we’ve already heard from guys like former Heavy/Light Heavyweight champion Randy Couture, the potential pitfalls of TRT by far outweigh the benefits, and are becoming popular not out of necessity, but out of a desire to feel young again. Then again, Sonnen has shown that TRT can have a hell of an effect on the decision-making process, so maybe the natural fighters of the world would actually prefer to fight guys who are so confident in themselves as a result of “therapy” that they throw techniques well beyond their abilities. But what do you think, Potato Nation?
(If you’ve ever seen the kind of bedbugs that Oakland produces, then you’d be less inclined to call Chael a cheater is all we’re saying.)
Well, well, well. As if it wasn’t bad enough that a mild-mannered, unassuming guy like Chael Sonnen lost *his* UFC middleweight championship due to a misunderstanding of the rules back at UFC 117, and shortly thereafter found himself thrust into the center of an elaborate conspiracy (that’s right, conspiracy) that attempted to invalidate the four and a half round ass whooping he laid out on Anderson Silva, now he has this to deal with this. The poor guy.
You see, Potato Nation, when you become the best at something, be it sports, politics, or whatever else, the common folk can’t help but become jealous of your accomplishments, to the point that they will go out of their way to try and discredit what you have worked so hard to achieve. Such was the case for Herman Cain, and now it appears that none other than HH Chael Sonnen has found himself in the public’s crosshairs as well. As we all know, Sonnen is the greatest mixed martial artist of all time, bar none, and because of this, everyone with a University of Phoenix Health Care degree is trying to use their “science” to tear him down. Even though he was granted a therapeutic use exemption to help him deal with his inability to produce testosterone, a real, crippling disease that many MMA fighters face, haters are still coming out of the woodwork to try and soil the name of a man who literally defines “upstanding citizen” with his every action.
Today’s mountebank is none other than MMAJunkies go-to medicine man, Dr. Johnny Benjamin, who boldly claimed that the only reason Sonnen’s body cannot produce the testosterone it should is due to the fact that he definitely used steroids in the past. Here’s what he told BloodyElbow:
Was Chael Sonnen a big time collegiate wrestler? Yes he was. I’m going to opine and say to you, there’s no way in the world you get to the level of collegiate wrestling that Chael Sonnen was at, with hypogonadism. Let me explain to you why. Hypogonadism means that the testes did not produce enough testosterone for one to normally mature. He wasn’t on TRT as a teenager. He became this big, muscled up monster and NCAA wrestler with hypogonadism? Hell no.
(If you’ve ever seen the kind of bedbugs that Oakland produces, then you’d be less inclined to call Chael a cheater is all we’re saying.)
Well, well, well. As if it wasn’t bad enough that a mild-mannered, unassuming guy like Chael Sonnen lost *his* UFC middleweight championship due to a misunderstanding of the rules back at UFC 117, and shortly thereafter found himself thrust into the center of an elaborate conspiracy (that’s right, conspiracy) that attempted to invalidate the four and a half round ass whooping he laid out on Anderson Silva, now he has this to deal with this. The poor guy.
You see, Potato Nation, when you become the best at something, be it sports, politics, or whatever else, the common folk can’t help but become jealous of your accomplishments, to the point that they will go out of their way to try and discredit what you have worked so hard to achieve. Such was the case for Herman Cain, and now it appears that none other than HH Chael Sonnen has found himself in the public’s crosshairs as well. As we all know, Sonnen is the greatest mixed martial artist of all time, bar none, and because of this, everyone with a University of Phoenix Health Care degree is trying to use their “science” to tear him down. Even though he was granted a therapeutic use exemption to help him deal with his inability to produce testosterone, a real, crippling disease that many MMA fighters face, haters are still coming out of the woodwork to try and soil the name of a man who literally defines “upstanding citizen” with his every action.
Today’s mountebank is none other than MMAJunkies go-to medicine man, Dr. Johnny Benjamin, who boldly claimed that the only reason Sonnen’s body cannot produce the testosterone it should is due to the fact that he definitely used steroids in the past. Here’s what he told BloodyElbow:
Was Chael Sonnen a big time collegiate wrestler? Yes he was. I’m going to opine and say to you, there’s no way in the world you get to the level of collegiate wrestling that Chael Sonnen was at, with hypogonadism. Let me explain to you why. Hypogonadism means that the testes did not produce enough testosterone for one to normally mature. He wasn’t on TRT as a teenager. He became this big, muscled up monster and NCAA wrestler with hypogonadism? Hell no.
The truth of the matter is, you could never get to that level, because you’re not going to have the muscle mass and strength to get you there. They’re going to run you over. Your body will not allow you to develop enough muscle and strength to compete at your size. If he has hypogonadism, it’s from one thing, and one thing only, because he treated himself with steroids in the past, and wrecked his testes. That’s it.
We may be out of line here, “Dr.” Benjamin, but how dare you. To think that a straight-laced guy like Chael would even consider taking advantage of the system is not only shocking, but could be considered slander as well.
Obviously we’re only kidding here, as Benjamin’s claims, though lacking actual proof, aren’t exactly outside the realm of possibility when dealing with a habitual line stepper such as Sonnen. But what does that mean for guys like Dan Henderson, Frank Mir, and the other MMA fighters that have applied for TRT exemption? All of them couldn’t have used roids in the past, right? Oh how the plot thickens.
It’s a conflict of interest. If you’re going to look like you’re a fair organization that’s trying to create a level playing field for everyone, then you can’t do it yourself. The problem is, our big guys never test positive, but your fringe guys do, and get exposed.
If you know something that may wreck the biggest name in your sport, and you’re the only one that knows, will you expose it? If the guys who are the very biggest draws test positive, would you report it? It’s like if a tree falls in the woods, did it make a noise. It’s a real gut check at that point. You’re going to ruin a whole card if your main event guy tests positive? You can’t put yourself in that position. You have to let somebody else do it, and if a test is positive, it’s positive. You never touched it. You’ve got nothing to do with it. You’re not protecting or shielding anyone.
Dr. Benjamin definitely makes another good point here, and one that I hadn’t really considered when thinking over this issue. Imagine if Alistair Overeem’s horsepiss was caught by the UFC and the UFC alone. Do you think that they’d cost themselves one of the biggest cards/matchups of the year due to a high T/E ratio? Methinks not.
Luckily “Captain America” is here to put things in perspective:
You know, I understand it. There’s this whole movement out there for anti-aging. It started out with guys in their 50’s who, naturally as you get older, your testosterone levels deplete. Your body quits producing more, and they want to feel and recover and do the things they did when they were younger. I understand that.
But I think there are natural ways to jumpstart your body’s own production rather than put an external source of testosterone in your body. And I think putting the external in only compounds the issues that your already having. I think the problem…obviously Chael, Marquardt, there’s been several athletes that have been using TRT.
I think for them, it’s not a function of having depleted levels of testosterone, it’s wanting to have testosterone levels of a 21 year old again, because when you were 21, let’s face it, you recovered better, you’re probably gonna compete better, especially if you’re 32 and have that experience going into a fight.
Couture goes on to mention several of the methods he used to stay young at heart, which included marrying, then divorcing lunatics at least ten years his junior on the regular. True dat, brother.
Join us after the jump for the full interview.
(Titty Relaxation Therapy > Testosterone Replacement Therapy any day of the week.)
Luckily “Captain America” is here to put things in perspective:
You know, I understand it. There’s this whole movement out there for anti-aging. It started out with guys in their 50′s who, naturally as you get older, your testosterone levels deplete. Your body quits producing more, and they want to feel and recover and do the things they did when they were younger. I understand that.
But I think there are natural ways to jumpstart your body’s own production rather than put an external source of testosterone in your body. And I think putting the external in only compounds the issues that your already having. I think the problem…obviously Chael, Marquardt, there’s been several athletes that have been using TRT.
I think for them, it’s not a function of having depleted levels of testosterone, it’s wanting to have testosterone levels of a 21 year old again, because when you were 21, let’s face it, you recovered better, you’re probably gonna compete better, especially if you’re 32 and have that experience going into a fight.
Couture goes on to mention several of the methods he used to stay young at heart, which included marrying, then divorcing lunatics at least ten years his junior on the regular. True dat, brother.
But Couture’s greatest bit of wisdom on TRT came when he simply stated that the positives are by far outweighed by the negatives:
[MMA Commissions] designate what the top line is for a natural human being, and unfortunately, if you get carried away with TRT, you’re gonna cross that line and you’re gonna come up positive in a test.
In our profession, to be banned from making a living for probably a year, and trashing your reputation, it’s really not worth it.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is why Couture is one of the guys you go to when you’re trying to make sense of things. Because, like your war-hardened Grandpa, he can both school you in a debate on almost any subject and still kick your ass if things get physical.
Speaking of grandfathers, for those of you hoping that Couture was just biding his time before he attempts to become the first AARP card-holding heavyweight champion, we are sorry to inform you that Couture “doesn’t want any part” of Junior dos Santos. He also states that he picked Mir to win over dos Santos, proving that some of those senility theorists might just be onto something.
