Michael Bisping suffered a second round TKO loss to Vitor Belfort at UFC on FX 7 last month. It was revealed after the fight that Belfort had received a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) for Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) before the fight.
Bisping released an official statement regarding the matter on his website (www.bisping.tv) on Friday:
“As I said right after the fight, I lost because I made a mistake and Vitor took advantage of it. It sucks. I don’t like it, but that was the result. I lost. Bottom line.
Over the past couple years, and even right before the fight, I have made my views on TRT very, very clear. I don’t feel that I need to go into depth about it again right now. All I have to add, about this specific instance, is that it is very disappointing that someone who was caught cheating with testosterone in the past, now gets to use testosterone legally. A well known side effect of steroids is that it reduces testosterone, so I don’t understand how it would make sense to then grant someone an exemption to then increase testosterone.
All that being said, I am not here to make excuses or cry over spilled milk. I fight in the best organization in the world, The UFC, and am very excited to work and earn a title fight, the right way. That process starts by whooping Alan Belcher’s ass at UFC 159 on Saturday, April 27th, live on PPV.
Thanks everyone for their support – can’t wait to spend some time with British UFC fans in London next week and I will be back, better than ever.”
“The Count” makes a good point and it’s easy to sympathize with him and understand his frustration considering Belfort tested positive for elevated levels of Testosterone back in 2006 at Pride 32 in Las Vegas.
If a fighter is going to be granted TUE for TRT, should their opponent at least be made aware of the fact BEFORE the fight? Maybe they should be given the option whether or not they want to fight someone who is using a PED.
What do you think?