Has TRT become a permanent aspect of MMA?
Posted on August 7, 2012, 12:43 PM by Mike DrahotaWith former UFC Heavyweight champion Frank Mir recently coming out with the statement that he will continue to use TRT (Testosterone Replacement Therapy) indefinitely, MMA fans everywhere have to wonder if the hormone replacement therapy has became a mainstay for the sport. As more and more fighters detail their use of TRT, it seems that the controversy surrounding it declines. This could be a good thing or a bad thing for the sport, depending on which point of view you choose to take. Let's take a look at the pros and cons of TRT use in Mixed Martial Arts.
The health benefits of its use are obvious, especially for a high-level athlete that is depleting his testosterone levels on a daily basis. It may allow athletes, namely fighters, to extend theirs careers and continue training at an extremely high level when non-using athletes are starting to wear down physically. Perhaps Dan Henderson is a good example of this, as he is fighting for the UFC Light Heavyweight championship in early September at age 41. Or perhaps Henderson is just an anomaly. Mir himself has stated that TRT did not help him in the gym specifically, but rather assisted him with health problems associated with low testosterone that his doctors had found in blood tests. One thing is for certain, that if TRT is finding a somewhat permanent spot within MMA, it must be used within reason, regulated and prescribed by credible doctors. Even UFC President Dana White has not opposed its use as of late, as long as it is regulated and a fighter tests well within the allotted T:E ratios. TRT use does not grant superhuman abilities or strength, nor does it guarantee a win, evident by Rampage Jackson's extremely poor showing at UFC 144 after beginning TRT use.
On the other hand, TRT use can walk the fine line of using performance-enhancing drugs, which have no spot in MMA. However, rumors of steroids and HGH still continue to haunt MMA on a daily basis. TRT is all too easily grouped in with these dangerous drugs. While Mir tested well within legal limits at UFC 146, Chael Sonnen showed up with T:E ratios of almost 17:1 for his fight with Anderson Silva at UFC 117. Sonnen has since been granted a Therapeutic Use Exemption, but he was suspended by the CSAC following that epic battle. It is debatable, but Sonnen looked quite a bit weaker in his second go-around with the champ. Some, like Nate Marquardt, felt they had something to hide and paid dire consequences for their lack of disclosure. Also, if so many fighters are using TRT, when does the playing field become uneven? Is it skewed already?
Obviously the debate over TRT use in MMA is a hotly debated topic with many details to be factored in. Personally, I believe that while it may be regulated and legal, it walks a very fine line in a sport that is greatly plagued by PED use. We must remember that MMA is a young sport, and if it stands a chance to grow exponentially, drug use will certainly deter that. Like Tito Ortiz said, if you need TRT, you probably shouldn't be a fighter. One would think that fighters, being in top physical shape, would already possess high T levels to begin with. But they do deplete their bodies routinely. What are your thoughts on this increasingly prevalent debate? Is TRT just another regulated aspect of MMA now, or is it a way to circumvent the rules and gain an advantage on your opponents?
Further Reading: Tito Ortiz - If you have to do TRT, you probably shouldn't be fighting
Comments
I hate TRT !
yeah, let's kill it!
It's in the process of becoming a fixture in MMA. The commissions are hopeless at regulating this stuff and the UFC maintains a conveniently ambiguous position on the issue, with Dana throwing his hands up and claiming he's powerless to stop it and that the commissions allow it etc. And with Dana's recent comments on VADA, saying that the commissions already test and that anything more is unnecessary etc we should start getting used to the fact that more and more fighters are going to resemble walking biochemistry experiments (with the muscle mass of Bigfoot and the body fat of a stick insect) all the while claiming they would die without TRT.
If every UFC champ was a TRT user, I'd say its a huge issue. Since it hasn't put anyone on a pedestal. I think all this TRT is over rated as far as in fight performance. If you're not over the limit anywhere, fight on.
Whoa!! Common sense without hysteria. I didn't expect that on an MMA website.
I think it has been an issue for a long time, but recently has been brought into the public spotlight. These guys who are on it in their early and even mid 30s should have naturally elevated levels of testosterone ( as the physically prime age for Man is from 28-35 IMO ). The reason most of these people are needing to use TRT is because they have used PED's in the past and are having to supplement the loss and imbalance that they have caused to their body.
Hence it seems that a lot of them seem to be wrestlers. But I agree.
Dana has gone from not having that much of an opinion on it, to thinking guys only needed it because they did PED's earlier in his career, to saying if regulated correctly it causes no advantages, to claiming it's one of the greatest advances in sports science history.
I've made my opinion TRT use quite clear here so I won't go in to detail. My hope is, as the treatment isn't going anywhere, that fighters who use the treatment have certain criteria they have to meet. Some good qualifications should be: A registered endocrinologist has to OK the use, A fighter must provide the start date of such use 6 months before his next fight, A fighter must have his blood tested weekly by a third party (not just have a fighter say "Hey, I test my blood all the time to make sure I'm in range), and finally blood testing coupled with the Urine screen.
Better still, the registered endocrinologists from each fighter's camp should face off in a preliminary fight. The winning endocrinologist gets to prescribe his fighter as much TRT as he pleases.
The reality of it is that if all these fighters fought without using PED's there would be even more injuries and more cards that get broken up. I love it because it lets these guys use steroids legally and it keeps the PPV's and the free cards exciting. And I think the UFC loves it for that very reason. They're gonna use it anyway so give them a loophole and there won't be any widespread steroid scandal in MMA.
its the first time tito's ever got anything right
got bad eyesight? you're not gonna be a clay pigeon shooter.
got dwarfism? you're not gonna be a basketball player.
got a messed up endocrine system? get over it or stop being a fighter.
mm what could come next, maybe someone stuffs down 500g of sugar a day, gives himself diabetes then goes to his doc. and gets insulin replacement therapy :)
You get an "A" for the comedic effort, but you fail at being humorous.
I believe in fairness. If you are unable to perform at top levels because your lacking TRT in your body. Then your career is over. People call it, over the hill, to slow, whatever you call it. When Michael Jordan cannot hack it, guess what you retire. Roy Jones Jr, you retire. No drugs just retire. All these new athletes fighting till there 40s is amazing in itself. But if they need TRT to do it. Then * is always after there name.
I'm not a doctor, but if you deplete your body of natural testosterone than it seems to me that you are doing something wrong (not including aging). If you train 8 hours a day, it seems very likely that that is too much. Professional Bodybuilders that a lot, but they are about 8 different steroids, to help muscle growth, less injuries, faster recovery time etc. If you train naturally the same about you would be exhausted and overworked. Recovery time is just as important as the work you put in. TRT is defiantly a nice loophole to exploit. I do not support it.
Yes. And not just Mma but all of sports.
It will haunt you back eventually when you get older. We'll see if they live longer than 65.
I don't think so. It really effects people that "abuse" particular drugs. Although i do not agree with TRT, but depending on the case they are not replacing a "huge" amount, just to the point of being "not legal" in some cases it might be a lot, in some not so much. And it is usually done by professional doctors, although i might be given them too much credit.