ViTRTor BelforTRT lives. The oft-criticized and maligned middleweight Belfort is expected to take on champion Chris Weidman later this year in Las Vegas, and a recent report from MMAFighting.com indicates that the Brazilian will apply for a testosterone therapeutic use exemption (TUE) ahead of the bout. Ariel Helwani broke the report via Twitter: This directly […]
ViTRTor BelforTRT lives. The oft-criticized and maligned middleweight Belfort is expected to take on champion Chris Weidman later this year in Las Vegas, and a recent report from MMAFighting.com indicates that the Brazilian will apply for a testosterone therapeutic use exemption (TUE) ahead of the bout. Ariel Helwani broke the report via Twitter: This directly […]
Which leads into today’s news that Belfort will indeed be applying for a therapeutic usage exemption for TRT in Nevada when his title fight against Weidman is officially booked. Ariel Helwani passed along the news on last night’s installment of UFC Tonight:
“He said he’s on TRT and that his doctors said he has to be on it. This has been prescribed and he’s planning on applying to be on a TUE for the next fight.”
Well, bullshit. For the sake of argument, let’s take Belfort at his word — he needs to load up on testosterone in order to function normally. Is that a valid reason for any athletic commission to grant him an exemption? You’re gonna let a guy use steroids because he’s too sick to compete without them? Honestly, that sounds like the worst reason to give a professional fighter a TUE. But hey, we all know that in Brazil, doctors are essentially Gods and their advice must be followed at all costs, no matter how ridiculous.
Which leads into today’s news that Belfort will indeed be applying for a therapeutic usage exemption for TRT in Nevada when his title fight against Weidman is officially booked. Ariel Helwani passed along the news on last night’s installment of UFC Tonight:
“He said he’s on TRT and that his doctors said he has to be on it. This has been prescribed and he’s planning on applying to be on a TUE for the next fight.”
Well, bullshit. For the sake of argument, let’s take Belfort at his word — he needs to load up on testosterone in order to function normally. Is that a valid reason for any athletic commission to grant him an exemption? You’re gonna let a guy use steroids because he’s too sick to compete without them? Honestly, that sounds like the worst reason to give a professional fighter a TUE. But hey, we all know that in Brazil, doctors are essentially Gods and their advice must be followed at all costs, no matter how ridiculous.
For Belfort, testosterone therapy may be a performance-enabler rather than a performance-enhancer, but that doesn’t make his usage any more legitimate. I’m reminded of Karo Parisyan’s dependency on painkillers during the late part of his UFC run, which earned him a suspension and a fine following his appearance at UFC 94 in 2009. In Parisyan’s case, the drugs didn’t give him superhuman strength, but he’d be a physical and emotional wreck if he had to fight without them. That’s why painkillers generally fall under MMA’s unapproved substances list; theoretically, the UFC only wants healthy fighters competing.
In other words, “this treatment isn’t a performance enhancer, it just allows me to compete” shouldn’t hold water as a medical justification. Belfort allegedly suffers from an illness that would prevent him from being competitive with the UFC’s elite middleweights without the help of TRT. Really, he’s a very sick man. That’s the story he’s sticking to, anyway. And this is the guy who’s getting the next middleweight title shot in the UFC.
But Silva isn’t going quietly into his suspension. As he told MMAFighting’s Guilherme Cruz, Bigfoot plans to sue Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA) medical director Dr. Marcio Tannure, who authorized the veteran heavyweight’s therapeutic usage exemption for TRT, and oversaw his therapy. And if you listen to Silva’s side of the story, he might actually have a case here.
A week before his fight in Australia, Silva received a report from Tannure stating that his testosterone levels were low, and he should continue taking injections on a weekly basis. It seems possible that Tannure was unaware of just how soon Silva’s fight was coming up — but nevertheless, Silva’s followed the doctor’s orders, and it wound up costing him a $50,000 bonus and nine months of his career.
“I just did what they told me to do,” Silva told MMAFighting.com. “I’d never do something different that what the doctor told me to. I looked for a doctor with a good reputation, and he’s the UFC’s doctor in Brazil. I knew I’d be tested before and after the fight. Unfortunately, now I have to find the legal ways to overturn this situation or at least prove I’m not guilty…
“I took a shot at the same day he sent me that e-mail, and he asked me if I had another one to take with me to Australia, to take on fight week,” he said. “He authorized everything. I did exactly as I was informed to do.
But Silva isn’t going quietly into his suspension. As he told MMAFighting’s Guilherme Cruz, Bigfoot plans to sue Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA) medical director Dr. Marcio Tannure, who authorized the veteran heavyweight’s therapeutic usage exemption for TRT, and oversaw his therapy. And if you listen to Silva’s side of the story, he might actually have a case here.
A week before his fight in Australia, Silva received a report from Tannure stating that his testosterone levels were low, and he should continue taking injections on a weekly basis. It seems possible that Tannure was unaware of just how soon Silva’s fight was coming up — but nevertheless, Silva’s followed the doctor’s orders, and it wound up costing him a $50,000 bonus and nine months of his career.
“I just did what they told me to do,” Silva told MMAFighting.com. “I’d never do something different that what the doctor told me to. I looked for a doctor with a good reputation, and he’s the UFC’s doctor in Brazil. I knew I’d be tested before and after the fight. Unfortunately, now I have to find the legal ways to overturn this situation or at least prove I’m not guilty…
“I took a shot at the same day he sent me that e-mail, and he asked me if I had another one to take with me to Australia, to take on fight week,” he said. “He authorized everything. I did exactly as I was informed to do.
“You go get help with a doctor, you do the right thing, and now this story tarnishes my professional career,” he continued. “It tarnishes the great fight I did with Mark Hunt, and gave me a huge financial loss. The doctor knows that I cut weight, he knows how the body of a MMA fighter reacts. He should know at what level I would be with one shot. I felt like a lab rat. I did everything I was told to do and now I’m the cheater.”
To help build his defense, Silva plans to re-do his normal fight preparations under the supervision of different doctors:
“I’ll take the exact dosage I took, the exact timetable, and will get a doctor here in the U.S. and a doctor in Brazil to show to the fans that this is horrible for my career and the sport,” he said. “I want to prove that it was not my fault. When I have all the exams from both doctors, I want to sue (Dr. Tannure) for the moral and financial prejudice that he has caused me.”
Silva added that he’d like to continue undergoing TRT in the future as long as the UFC allows him to:
“I want to continue the treatment because it’s good for my personal life and my career as well. If you know what acromegaly is, you know what I have. My hormonal levels are not normal, my testosterone is too low, and I want to be on normal levels. I thought about a thousand things since this all happened,” he continued. “I considered leaving the sport because of these unfair things, but I don’t give up that easily. I have to show that it was not my fault.”
In other words, TRT is still not an exact science, and unless you’re dealing with a very experienced endocrinologist, mistakes can be made. And if Bigfoot still decides to use TRT when he returns from suspension, the same thing could happen to him again. So, our lesson for today: Don’t get on TRT unless you really need it to function normally, and if you really need TRT to function normally, you might want to consider a line of work other than professional fighting.
Sadly, one of the greatest heavyweight fights in UFC history will now have an asterisk next to it. Yesterday evening, MMAJunkie broke the news that Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva tested positive for elevated testosterone following his five-round war against Mark Hunt at UFC Fight Night 33, December 7th in Brisbane, Australia. As a result, the UFC — which regulated the event and was responsible for fighter drug-testing — has suspended Silva for nine months retroactive to the date of the fight, and stripped him of his $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus. The bout with Hunt will be changed to a no-contest on Bigfoot’s professional record, although Hunt still gets to keep his draw, and will receive the $50k that would have gone to Silva.
According to a statement released by a UFC rep, “Silva is on a medically approved regimen of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), and had been in compliance with therapeutic guidelines on all pre-fight tests performed prior to the event. The results of his test on the day of the event indicated a level of testosterone outside of allowable limit. Silva has been informed that the elevated testosterone level is a violation of the UFC Fighter Conduct Policy and his Promotional Agreement with Zuffa.”
Sadly, one of the greatest heavyweight fights in UFC history will now have an asterisk next to it. Yesterday evening, MMAJunkie broke the news that Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva tested positive for elevated testosterone following his five-round war against Mark Hunt at UFC Fight Night 33, December 7th in Brisbane, Australia. As a result, the UFC — which regulated the event and was responsible for fighter drug-testing — has suspended Silva for nine months retroactive to the date of the fight, and stripped him of his $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus. The bout with Hunt will be changed to a no-contest on Bigfoot’s professional record, although Hunt still gets to keep his draw, and will receive the $50k that would have gone to Silva.
According to a statement released by a UFC rep, “Silva is on a medically approved regimen of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), and had been in compliance with therapeutic guidelines on all pre-fight tests performed prior to the event. The results of his test on the day of the event indicated a level of testosterone outside of allowable limit. Silva has been informed that the elevated testosterone level is a violation of the UFC Fighter Conduct Policy and his Promotional Agreement with Zuffa.”
Clarification: Months before my fight I looked for the UFC doctor Marcio Tannure in Brazil so I could start the hormonal replacement “TRT” which was authorized and recognized by a professional. I started the treatment and 2 weeks before my fight I did all the exams required by the UFC. My testosterone level continued to be low so I was recommended by the doctor to increase the dosage. Unfortunately my level increased too much and caused me to suspend. I only did what was recommended by someone trained who understands about the subject therefore it was not my mistake. I’m cool because I know that the mistake was not made by me, I never tried doing anything wrong for my fight.
As MMAMania explains: “It should be noted that Tannure is the medical director of the Brazilian Mixed Martial Arts Commission’s (CABMMA) and, according to Brazilian mixed martial arts (MMA) reporter Guilherme Cruz, Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters always refer to him as a ‘UFC doctor.’ Indeed, he takes care of most of Brazil’s UFC fighters, and was also responsible for authorizing the TRT therapy for Vitor Belfort.” For what it’s worth, Silva also released some correspondence from his doctors indicating that his T-levels were low as of November 30th.
After news of Silva’s failed test broke, MMAJunkie’s Steven Marrocco called up Mark Hunt to get his reaction. “Shit, I need to get on some of this shit,” Hunt said. “Fuck, I don’t know how these guys are doing this shit. I should get some of that shit, too…I don’t know what to say, honestly. I don’t know what it is, but kudos to me for the bonus, eh?” Hunt then publicly blasted MMAJunkie for waking him up and not explaining that he was being interviewed. Classic Hunto.
Heading into his UFC Fight Night 32 bout with Dan Henderson, much was made of Vitor Belfort‘s usage of testosterone replacement therapy. Many attributed Belfort‘s string of first-round knockout wins—over Michael Bisping, Luke Rockholt and then Henderson—to his testosterone regime. And perhaps Belfort‘s late-career resurgence is due, at least in part, to his legal usage […]
Heading into his UFC Fight Night 32 bout with Dan Henderson, much was made of Vitor Belfort‘s usage of testosterone replacement therapy. Many attributed Belfort‘s string of first-round knockout wins—over Michael Bisping, Luke Rockholt and then Henderson—to his testosterone regime. And perhaps Belfort‘s late-career resurgence is due, at least in part, to his legal usage […]
(Dammit, Chael. We can never stay mad at you. / Photo via Getty)
Since it was first published in July 2009, our MMA Steroid Busts: The Definitive Timeline feature has grown to become the Internet’s most complete history of fighter PED use — as well as the busted fighters’ resulting excuses. But with the recent rise of testosterone replacement therapy, things began to get complicated. Should the list include a fighter who got caught with a 20:1 T/E ratio, even if he didn’t test positive for a particular steroid? It’s become clear that testosterone abuse is the new Stanozolol and we’ll be talking about this issue for years to come, so to keep things nice and neat, we’ve decided to stick every failed drug test for elevated testosterone on page 2 of the timeline.
Separating the testosterone busts into their own group revealed this damning statistic: “Of the aforementioned fighters who tested positive for elevated testosterone after fights, 1 was successful in those fights, while 4 were unsuccessful.” It’s too early to draw any hard conclusions, but TRT abuse may turn out to be the most useless unfair advantage in all of MMA.
Check out the new testosterone busts page of the Steroid Bust Timeline right here, and please let us know if we’ve forgotten any.
(Dammit, Chael. We can never stay mad at you. / Photo via Getty)
Since it was first published in July 2009, our MMA Steroid Busts: The Definitive Timeline feature has grown to become the Internet’s most complete history of fighter PED use — as well as the busted fighters’ resulting excuses. But with the recent rise of testosterone replacement therapy, things began to get complicated. Should the list include a fighter who got caught with a 20:1 T/E ratio, even if he didn’t test positive for a particular steroid? It’s become clear that testosterone abuse is the new Stanozolol and we’ll be talking about this issue for years to come, so to keep things nice and neat, we’ve decided to stick every failed drug test for elevated testosterone on page 2 of the timeline.
Separating the testosterone busts into their own group revealed this damning statistic: “Of the aforementioned fighters who tested positive for elevated testosterone after fights, 1 was successful in those fights, while 4 were unsuccessful.” It’s too early to draw any hard conclusions, but TRT abuse may turn out to be the most useless unfair advantage in all of MMA.
Check out the new testosterone busts page of the Steroid Bust Timeline right here, and please let us know if we’ve forgotten any.
