UFC
Nate Marquardt admits TRT treatment, high testosterone levels to blame for UFC on Versus 4 removal
Jun 28, 2011 - 2:15:59 PM Nate Marquardt admits TRT treatment, high testosterone levels to blame for UFC on Versus 4 removal

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Nate Marquardt broke his silence on Tuesday in a near hour-long interview on Ariel Helwani's MMA Hour at MMAFighting.com, and revealed why he failed his medicals with the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission, which led to his removal from UFC on Versus 4 and his firing by Dana White from the UFC.

Marquardt's revelation was that he was undergoing an aggressive testosterone replacement therapy, and his testosterone levels needed to be in a certain range by the day of the weigh-ins, a range they did not get to, which led to the commission suspending him.

According to Marquardt, he was diagnosed with low testosterone last August after what he described as "feeling sluggish" and "horrible" in training. His doctor put then put him on TRT. Marquardt said he had been in communication with the UFC throughout his treatment, and in fact for his two remaining bouts in 2010 had been undergoing the treatment and had kept his testosterone levels where they needed to be for the organization.

Marquardt's next fight was then against Dan Miller in New Jersey at UFC 128. Marquardt said when he applied for a Therapeutic Use Exemption from New Jersey's athletic commission, he was informed that his doctor's information was incomplete. Not only was it incomplete, but they said the treatment he was getting from this doctor was not USADA approved treatment for the condition. They allowed him to fight anyway, with the caveat that he'd need follow up testing after the event in order to gain official clearance. It should be noted that Miller was not informed that Marquardt was undergoing TRT for their bout.

After the fight, Marquardt was required to go off of the treatment for eight weeks, at which time he would need to undergo several blood tests and be seen by an endocrinologist to gain clearance for continuing the therapeutic use of testosterone.

The completion of eight weeks brought him just a few weeks out from his UFC on Versus 4, and Marquardt claims that his doctor recommended a more aggressive treatment be started after being off of it for eight weeks and being so close to the fight. He then claimed that he didn't get his blood tested until after two weeks of the more aggressive treatment, and that his testosterone levels were higher than acceptable.

From there he was taken off of treatment and believed his testosterone levels would get back to the acceptable range by the time weigh-ins took place on Saturday in Pittsburgh.

Now, Marquardt and his manager Lex McMahon of Alchemist MMA claimed that they had been in contact with the UFC and with the PSAC in regards to the issue, and they were going to let him fight as long as his levels came down to the "normal" range. However, they were still elevated on Saturday, and Marquardt was subsequently suspended and pulled from the card.

Marquardt and McMahon stated that Marquardt's testosterone levels continued to decline, and got into normal range on Sunday, and they've subsequently submitted documentation of it being back in range to the PSAC. The commission is expected to examine said documentation this week and Marquardt believes he'll be taken off suspension at that time.

But regardless of that suspension, the end result was that Marquardt was released from the UFC, with Dana White saying on Sunday night that he was "disgusted" with him for his actions. Surprisingly enough, it was revealed that Marquardt's management found out about his firing from the organization through the same 12 second Twitter video from Dana White that everyone saw on Saturday. For his part, Marquardt said he takes responsibility for his screw up, which was not getting it back in order in time for the fight, and also said he partially expected Dana's reaction.

"I have to take responsibility," he said. "I was the one fighting, I was the one in the main event. I messed up, there were things I should have done and I had oversight, and I have to take responsibility for that... [When I talked to him] Dana said, basically, 'how could you let this happen.' I don't know if Dana was informed the whole way, I didn't deal with him directly. I knew from talking to him that it was bad. [The release] was something I half expected."

Helwani asked him about his previous run-in with an athletic commission for a banned substance, his 2005 suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Marquardt claims he was taking an over-the-counter supplement for years that contained a banned substance that he didn't realize was in there, and that's what popped him there. Speaking with Helwani, he said he hoped it wasn't his use of that supplement that lowered his testosterone and led to his need for TRT.

Marquardt now awaits an official ruling from the PSAC now that his levels are back in normal range, and from there he's hoping that he might be able to come back to the UFC, but he'll be ready to fight in short order for whatever promotion will have him.

Link to the MMA Hour

Penick's Analysis: This brings about the debate about whether PEDs should be legal or not in sports, because here we have a situation with a world class athlete in his 30s suffering from a condition that is highly uncommon for young men, and Marquardt was using a doctor-prescribed therapy that wasn't even within standards set for that condition. The fact that the New Jersey commission allowed him to fight with that shaky foundation, and didn't inform his opponent that he was facing someone on TRT, is a bad mark on them, and the fact that the PSAC was going to give him time to get his levels down to a normal range doesn't sit well either. Had he been tested out of competition, as Nevada is about to do, he would have been suspended. The therapy is supposed to bring them to normal levels, and if it has them elevated then it simply makes it look like he was trying to cycle a steroid regimen. With a shaky story and a questionable doctor that Marquardt even admitted he wouldn't be going to again, this doesn't make anyone look good. Unfortunately for him, failing to get his testosterone in range caused the cancelation of his main event fight, and because that was something that was in his control and his responsibility to monitor, the reaction was harsh and swift. We'll see if White softens his stance, but Marquardt still massively screwed up here.