(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.
(Pictured: Robert Drysdale’s father, left, and Robert Drysdale’s grandfather, right.)
Testosterone and MMA go hand-in-hand like whiskey and breakfast (except they don’t hold hands, of course, because that’s what queers do). Unfortunately for many of today’s aging MMA stars, naturally produced testosterone dries up faster than a crick in a west Texas drought once they turn 30, forcing many of these dinosaurs to resort to the synthetic stuff in order to compete with the whipper-snappers who are trying to shamelessly take their jobs. And so, TRT was born.
While fighters like Vitor Belfort have utilized TRT to (literally) inject new life into their MMA careers, fighters like Robert Drysdale have damn near killed theirs before they even got started by abusing the stuff to a comical degree. Fortunately for Drysdale, it looks like the UFC will be letting him off easy for essentially pissing pure HGH last week and being subsequently pulled from UFC 167. A UFC rep recently spoke with MMAJunkie about Drysdale’s future in the organization following his botched drug test. In short, it’s still a go!
Obviously, Robert needs to establish that he is medically fit to participate and apply for the appropriate licensure,” the rep wrote in a prepared statement. “Assuming he is able to do this, he will fight for the organization at some point in the future.”
NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer said commissioners for the regulatory body will decide whether to place Drysdale on a future agenda to address the failed test. As of today, the commission also hasn’t levied any disciplinary action.
While we can’t imagine that this is the first impression the BJJ legend was hoping to make with the UFC, at least we will be able to see whether or not he was worth all the trouble he has given them so far. Hooray?
(Pictured: Robert Drysdale’s father, left, and Robert Drysdale’s great grandfather, right.)
Testosterone and MMA go hand-in-hand like whiskey and breakfast (except they don’t hold hands, of course, because that’s what queers do). Unfortunately for many of today’s aging MMA stars, naturally produced testosterone dries up faster than a crick in a west Texas drought once they turn 30, forcing many of these dinosaurs to resort to the synthetic stuff in order to compete with the whipper-snappers who are trying to shamelessly take their jobs. And so, the TRT TUE was born.
While fighters like Vitor Belfort have utilized TRT to (literally) inject new life into their MMA careers, fighters like Robert Drysdale have damn near killed theirs before they even got started by abusing the stuff to a comical degree. Fortunately for Drysdale, it looks like the UFC will be letting him off easy for essentially pissing pure HGH last week and being subsequently pulled from UFC 167. A UFC rep recently spoke with MMAJunkie about Drysdale’s future in the organization following his botched drug test. In short, it’s still a go!
Obviously, Robert needs to establish that he is medically fit to participate and apply for the appropriate licensure,” the rep wrote in a prepared statement. “Assuming he is able to do this, he will fight for the organization at some point in the future.”
NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer said commissioners for the regulatory body will decide whether to place Drysdale on a future agenda to address the failed test. As of today, the commission also hasn’t levied any disciplinary action.
While we can’t imagine that this is the first impression the BJJ legend was hoping to make with the UFC, at least we will be able to see whether or not he was worth all the trouble he has given them so far. Hooray?
I was just trying to say how committed I am to achieving something. Why would I want to do something that’s going to hurt me? Just to make people feel good? Haters are always going to be there. People are always going to talk about you because you are somebody. Like I’ve said, this [TRT] can’t teach people to knock people out with kicks and perform.
I was just kind of showing how motivated I am. Of course, they won’t allow that to happen. It’s unhealthy for me. It would be unfair. If you’re doing something right, everything goes good.
At this point, I can’t even muster the energy to comment on Belfort’s continuous flip-flopping. He is to TRT what Oprah is to dieting, and being that anyone who questions a former steroid user’s insistence or need to be on TRT is immediately dubbed a “hater” by fighters and fans alike, I’ll just leave this most recent blurb up to you Taters for analysis.
I think it’s a great idea, and I’m a big supporter of it. I think our sport and the commission taking actions like this is putting us ahead of the game compared to other sports. We’re not putting out a fire. We’re attacking the problem before it becomes an epidemic.
In any case, the one aspect of TRT that Belfort has remained steadfast in defending since his usage was made public was the idea that he *needed* it to compete with today’s younger fighters, who are practically overflowing with the stuff. “Basically what TRT is for me is to not be at a disadvantage,” Belfort has stated, “Low testosterone is something that can cause serious health problems and even death. You can have problems, big problems, if it’s untreated. So the treatment is for you to live longer and have a better life by having less health problems.”
OK, so Belfort basically needs TRT to survive, is what he’s saying –which, fine, we’ve heard that excuse before. But you’d think a statement like that would essentially condemn Belfort to TRT usage for the rest of his career (or life, really), because were he to suddenly stop using TRT, it would prove that he never really needed it in the first place, right?
(Just to clarify, the dude on the left is two years *older* than the one on the right. Photo via Taringa.)
In any case, the one aspect of TRT that Belfort has remained steadfast in defending since his usage was made public was the idea that he *needed* it to compete with today’s younger fighters, who are practically overflowing with the stuff. “Basically what TRT is for me is to not be at a disadvantage,” Belfort has stated, “Low testosterone is something that can cause serious health problems and even death. You can have problems, big problems, if it’s untreated. So the treatment is for you to live longer and have a better life by having less health problems.”
OK, so Belfort basically needs TRT to survive, is what he’s saying — which, fine, we’ve heard that excuse before. But you’d think a statement like that would essentially condemn Belfort to TRT usage for the rest of his career (or life, really), because were he to suddenly stop using TRT, it would prove that he never really needed it in the first place, right?
Belfort recently spoke with UOL ahead of his upcoming rematch with Dan Henderson, and well, we’ll just allow him to spell out the terms and conditions of his TRT usage for you (translation via MMAFighting):
Belfort wants to fight the winner of Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva, who meet at UFC 168, and he would accept to stop using TRT if that’s one of the conditions on him earning the shot at the gold.
“I’ve already said that, if they agree with it, I would (stop doing TRT),” he said. “No problem at all. If they want me to get there in a disadvantage, that’s ok.
“But they already told me that’s not the problem,” he continued. “UFC told me, ‘You can’t go in there with a disadvantage.’ The thing is, I’m in normal testosterone levels with TRT. That’s the treatment. People don’t seem to understand that I’m the only guy that does blood tests. Many fighters don’t do this, many use illegal stuff and are not tested like I am. I’m tested all the time. Week after week, month after month. I have to keep the levels normal to make it fair.”
I’m not going to try and act like an expert on TRT, but doesn’t this statement strike you as a little…off? I mean, here we have been led to believe that Belfort *needs* TRT to maintain normal testosterone levels, but suddenly when a title shot’s on the line, he’s willing to drop the treatment altogether and suffer, like he said, “a disadvantage?” In the biggest fight of his life? (Potentially) against a guy who did this to him in their first fight?! DOES ANY OF THIS MAKES SENSE?!!!
Perhaps even more troubling about this statement is that Belfort seems to be operating under the belief that the UFC wouldn’t give him another title shot unless he dropped TRT. While we all know The Baldfather’s newfound stance on TRT to be rather…blunt, one would imagine that he’d want the best possible Belfort fighting were he to grant him another title shot. Then again, maybe what Belfort means by “dropping TRT” for a title shot has to do with some higher, moral reasoning (LOL!). Maybe he believes he can win the actual title without TRT but he just needed a little boost along the way. Which, if that’s the case, just makes Belfort’s insistence on using TRT in the first place all the more shady.
I don’t know, you guys. All I’ve taken away from this statement is that at some point, Vitor Belfort made a huge withdrawal at the First Bank of Lies.
In any case, the one aspect of TRT that Belfort has remained steadfast in defending since his usage was made public was the idea that he *needed* it to compete with today’s younger fighters, who are practically overflowing with the stuff. “Basically what TRT is for me is to not be at a disadvantage,” Belfort has stated, “Low testosterone is something that can cause serious health problems and even death. You can have problems, big problems, if it’s untreated. So the treatment is for you to live longer and have a better life by having less health problems.”
OK, so Belfort basically needs TRT to survive, is what he’s saying –which, fine, we’ve heard that excuse before. But you’d think a statement like that would essentially condemn Belfort to TRT usage for the rest of his career (or life, really), because were he to suddenly stop using TRT, it would prove that he never really needed it in the first place, right?
(Just to clarify, the dude on the left is two years *older* than the one on the right. Photo via Taringa.)
In any case, the one aspect of TRT that Belfort has remained steadfast in defending since his usage was made public was the idea that he *needed* it to compete with today’s younger fighters, who are practically overflowing with the stuff. “Basically what TRT is for me is to not be at a disadvantage,” Belfort has stated, “Low testosterone is something that can cause serious health problems and even death. You can have problems, big problems, if it’s untreated. So the treatment is for you to live longer and have a better life by having less health problems.”
OK, so Belfort basically needs TRT to survive, is what he’s saying — which, fine, we’ve heard that excuse before. But you’d think a statement like that would essentially condemn Belfort to TRT usage for the rest of his career (or life, really), because were he to suddenly stop using TRT, it would prove that he never really needed it in the first place, right?
Belfort recently spoke with UOL ahead of his upcoming rematch with Dan Henderson, and well, we’ll just allow him to spell out the terms and conditions of his TRT usage for you (translation via MMAFighting):
Belfort wants to fight the winner of Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva, who meet at UFC 168, and he would accept to stop using TRT if that’s one of the conditions on him earning the shot at the gold.
“I’ve already said that, if they agree with it, I would (stop doing TRT),” he said. “No problem at all. If they want me to get there in a disadvantage, that’s ok.
“But they already told me that’s not the problem,” he continued. “UFC told me, ‘You can’t go in there with a disadvantage.’ The thing is, I’m in normal testosterone levels with TRT. That’s the treatment. People don’t seem to understand that I’m the only guy that does blood tests. Many fighters don’t do this, many use illegal stuff and are not tested like I am. I’m tested all the time. Week after week, month after month. I have to keep the levels normal to make it fair.”
I’m not going to try and act like an expert on TRT, but doesn’t this statement strike you as a little…off? I mean, here we have been led to believe that Belfort *needs* TRT to maintain normal testosterone levels, but suddenly when a title shot’s on the line, he’s willing to drop the treatment altogether and suffer, like he said, “a disadvantage?” In the biggest fight of his life? (Potentially) against a guy who did this to him in their first fight?! DOES ANY OF THIS MAKES SENSE?!!!
Perhaps even more troubling about this statement is that Belfort seems to be operating under the belief that the UFC wouldn’t give him another title shot unless he dropped TRT. While we all know The Baldfather’s newfound stance on TRT to be rather…blunt, one would imagine that he’d want the best possible Belfort fighting were he to grant him another title shot. Then again, maybe what Belfort means by “dropping TRT” for a title shot has to do with some higher, moral reasoning (LOL!). Maybe he believes he can win the actual title without TRT but he just needed a little boost along the way. Which, if that’s the case, just makes Belfort’s insistence on using TRT in the first place all the more shady.
I don’t know, you guys. All I’ve taken away from this statement is that at some point, Vitor Belfort made a huge withdrawal at the First Bank of Lies.
That’s more than three times the NSAC’s testing threshold of 6:1 (which is considered overly liberal in the first place), and even beats the super-inflated T/E ratios that Alistair Overeem (14:1) and Chael Sonnen (16.9:1) previously turned in. If you’re a healthy adult male, your T/E ratio is probably around 1:1. In other words, Robert Drysdale is approximately 20 times the man you are.
Drysdale’s latest drug test didn’t come back positive for steroids, and NSAC boss Keith Kizer clarified that the submission ace hasn’t been suspended or fined as a result of the failed test — at least not by the athletic commission. As we’ve seen recently, the UFC has no problem taking matters into its own hands when it comes to testosterone abusers. So will the UFC will give Drysdale another chance to get his act together, or will he become the first none-and-done fighter since Benjamin Brinsa?
Right, so about that “staph infection”…
(Allegedly, Robert shaved his chest three hours before this photo was taken. / Photo via Getty)
That’s more than three times the NSAC’s testing threshold of 6:1 (which is considered overly liberal in the first place), and even beats the super-inflated T/E ratios that Alistair Overeem (14:1) and Chael Sonnen (16.9:1) previously turned in. If you’re a healthy adult male, your T/E ratio is probably around 1:1. In other words, Robert Drysdale is approximately 20 times the man you are.
Drysdale’s latest drug test didn’t come back positive for steroids, and NSAC boss Keith Kizer clarified that the submission ace hasn’t been suspended or fined as a result of the failed test — at least not by the athletic commission. As we’ve seen recently, the UFC has no problem taking matters into its own hands when it comes to testosterone abusers. So will the UFC will give Drysdale another chance to get his act together, or will he become the first none-and-done fighter since Benjamin Brinsa?
Right, so about that “staph infection”…
Here’s MMAJunkie with a very illuminating history about Drysdale’s history with testosterone therapy:
Less than a month before his scheduled UFC debut at UFC 163 against Ednaldo Oliveira earlier this year, [Drysdale] submitted paperwork to obtain a therapeutic-use exemption (TUE) to undergo testosterone-replacement therapy (TRT), according to documents MMAjunkie.com obtained through a public records request.
On his application, which is dated July 8, 2013, the 32-year-old Drysdale stated the TUE request was his first. He certified that he hadn’t used or was currently using banned substances and had no previous positive tests. Also included in the paperwork was a letter from a Las Vegas-based anti-aging clinic, TrimBody M.D., that stated Drysdale was taking weekly testosterone injections at the clinic to treat hypogonadism.
Additionally, a blood exam from Clinical Pathology Laboratories showed Drysdale had a free testosterone level of 156 ng/mL, which was below the testing facility’s normal range of 292 ng/mL to 1052 ng/mL. He was within the laboratory’s normal range for follicle-stimulating hormone (6.0 mIU/mL) and luteinizing hormone (2.1 mIU/mL).
Taken together, the levels are important determining factors in the diagnosis of primary or secondary hypogonadism, a condition in which the body fails to produce normal levels of testosterone. They also play a significant part in deciding whether an athlete is cleared for an exemption.
Despite filing TUE paperwork, Drysdale did not receive an exemption, according to Kizer. On July 16, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Drysdale withdrew from UFC 163, which took place Aug. 3 in Rio de Janeiro and was overseen by the Brazilian Athletic Commission, due to a staph infection.
(If not for his doctor’s advice, Rothwell would have fully completed his transformation into Wolverine that night. Photo via Getty.)
You guys remember how Ben Rothwell jumped on the TRT train prior to his bout with Brandon Vera at UFC 164? And how Vera claimed that “it wouldn’t help?” Well, it did. Unfortunately for “Big Ben,” it helped him a little *too* much, actually. MMAJunkie just passed along word that, although Rothwell was only given an “administrative warning” by the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, he has been suspended by the UFC for 9 months following a positive test for elevated levels of testosterone at UFC 164.
Shockingly, Rothwell was shocked to learn the shocking news:
Following my victory at UFC 164 I was informed I tested for an elevated level of testosterone. This came as a shock because I had applied for and was granted a TRT exemption and was doing so under the supervision of a doctor. I was tested every week for eight weeks prior to the fight and was well under the acceptable level each time.
My God, does Lavar Johnson’s “doctor” not even realize how many fighters he is screwing over with his ignorance? HE’S TAKING AWAY MEN’S LIVELIHOODS DAMN IT!
(If not for his doctor’s advice, Rothwell would have fully completed his transformation into Wolverine that night. Photo via Getty.)
You guys remember how Ben Rothwell jumped on the TRT train prior to his bout with Brandon Vera at UFC 164? And how Vera claimed that “it wouldn’t help?” Well, it did. Unfortunately for “Big Ben,” it helped him a little *too* much, actually. MMAJunkie just passed along word that, although Rothwell was only given an “administrative warning” by the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, he has been suspended by the UFC for 9 months following a positive test for elevated levels of testosterone at UFC 164.
Shockingly, Rothwell was shocked to learn the shocking news:
Following my victory at UFC 164 I was informed I tested for an elevated level of testosterone. This came as a shock because I had applied for and was granted a TRT exemption and was doing so under the supervision of a doctor. I was tested every week for eight weeks prior to the fight and was well under the acceptable level each time.
My God, does Lavar Johnson’s “doctor” not even realize how many fighters he is screwing over with his ignorance? HE’S TAKING AWAY MEN’S LIVELIHOODS DAMN IT!
I had applied for TRT after an endocrinologist and Wisconsin athletic doctors diagnosed me with hypogonadism. They felt it was caused by a car crash in 1999 that left me with severe head trauma and in a coma. Doctors told me TRT was something that could stop the hypogonadism from degrading my body.
After getting the news of the elevated test, I spoke with the Wisconsin Athletic Commission and they decided to give me an administrative warning. I was told they didn’t think I tried to cheat, but felt some punishment was necessary.
I have now been informed the UFC has elected to suspend me for nine months. I am not going to fight the suspension as I feel ultimately it is my responsibility to make sure I stay under the acceptable limit. I am deeply sorry for this mistake and apologize to my fans, family and friends.
Well if anything, Rothwell’s elevated testosterone levels should help explain that hyper-energetic dance number he pulled off before KO’ing Vera. Shunick is going to be crushed when he finds out that Rothwell wasn’t actually summoning the Gods of cheese, cheap beer and general whiteness on that cool August night. As were we all, George. As were we all.
