...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
With Vitor Belfort's use of testosterone replacement therapy coming to light following his win over Michael Bisping in Brazil, and his next fight on the treatment also taking place there, there were a lot of fans and pundits suggesting the UFC was intentionally keeping him out of harm's way on the TRT front. However, UFC President Dana White insisted on Thursday that it simply wasn't the case, and Belfort's bookings in Brazil were due to his popularity in the country and nothing more.
"Why wouldn't they give him an exemption? That's up to them," White said of commissions in the U.S. regarding Belfort's TRT use on Thursday (via MMAFighting.com). "The times he's done it, he's followed [the rules]. We're not keeping Vitor out of fighting anywhere. We've had Vitor fight in Brazil because Vitor sells out in Brazil."
"It's all a bunch of conspiracy f***ing crock of shit, is what it is. Whether it's reporters or fans or whatever that want to go after Vitor. Vitor's on TRT. Everybody knows it. I dislike TRT, and we are testing guys that are on TRT, to make sure they're within the limits and they're not cheating."
White added that Belfort was tested during his fight camp as well as after last weekend's UFC on FX 8 event. Furthermore, Belfort may just be in line for the UFC Middleweight Championship, though White wouldn't guarantee that would be his next fight.
Penick's Analysis: For the record, I can buy the UFC keeping Belfort in Brazil because he sells tickets, but him getting an exemption for TRT from a legitimate commission might be a different issue. And if that issue isn't pressed by the UFC booking him in the U.S. for his next fight, then it's going to continue to be questioned by fans and media alike. As it should be, because when there isn't independent oversight on something like TRT, it's at times hard to take the comments of him being tested in camp at face value. For now, Belfort's TRT use isn't seen as legitimate by many, so it's a topic that won't go away anytime soon.
(Attention MMATorch app users: Make sure to upgrade to the latest edition of the MMATorch app on your iPhone, iPad, or Android device!)
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.
