Hyden's Take
HYDEN BLOG: More testing coming for TRT in the UFC, and UFC 158 Changes
Feb 20, 2013 - 11:45:21 AM HYDEN BLOG: More testing coming for TRT in the UFC, and UFC 158 Changes

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By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor

Dana White changed his view on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) this past week, finallycoming out against it. He had previously been in favor of it, a stance opposite that of a lot of fans. Perhaps a major point of contention among fans was the lax testing involved with TRT. Perhaps it was who was receiving exemptions for TRT. For example, many of the people I've spoken with have a major problem with Vitor Belfort using TRT, given Belfort failed a drug test in 2006 while he was with PRIDE.

I find it to be absolute garbage that a guy who was popped for artificially elevating his testosterone levels illegally is now able to legally elevate his testosterone levels. TRT is supposed to get your levels back to normal. The problem is that Belfort's levels wouldn't be below normal if he hadn't abused PEDs in the past. When you boost your levels by artificial means it often leads to decreased testosterone levels. A fighter should not be allowed to boost his levels, even to normal, after having lowered them in the past by abusing PEDs. You reap what you sow.

Vitor Belfort is far from the only fighter to have ever undergone TRT. Forrest Griffin, Chael Sonnen, Dan Henderson, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Dennis Hallman, Todd Duffee, Shane Roller, and Frank Mir have also been granted exemptions.

I'm not in favor of TRT in sports for numerous reasons, chief among them is the chance for abuse. People will do anything they can to try to get ahead. There's a long and documented history of cheating in every sport, as well as cheating that isn't as well-documented. If someone thinks they can get away with it, they'll try it.

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Rory MacDonald is injured and out of his fight with Carlos Condit at UFC 158 and has been replaced with Johny Hendricks. If Hendricks wins he absolutely has to get the next title shot, there's no way around it. If Condit wins he probably still needs another victory before he can get another title shot. I'm a big Condit fan so I'd be in favor of him getting a shot at the belt again so soon, but most would probably prefer him to win another fight first. Of course, with the way the UFC gives out their title shots lately it's hard to say what could happen.

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Jake Ellenberger was supposed to face Johny Hendricks at UFC 158, but with the injury to Rory MacDonald he lost his opponent for the event for a moment. Now, we know that Nate Marquardt will replace Hendricks against Ellenberger. This will be an interesting fight as we'll see how Marquardt responds to being beaten by Tarec Saffiedine in his last fight.

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Comments and suggestions can be e-mailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com