MMA Roundup: Sonnen, Marquardt, TRT Mania

It’s runnin’ wild, BROTHER!!! It’s hard to imagine two natural testosterone-lacking paths crossing at such different times as with Chael Sonnen and Nate Marquardt. Read on to find out about their divergent paths. Also, we’ll have talk about BJ Penn’s thoughts on testosterone replacement therapy, as well as where Keith Kizer of the Nevada State Athletic Commission falls on the now-hot button issue of TRT.

One goes out, one comes in

What are the chances that within a couple of days of Nate Marquardt failing his medicals due to TRT that resulted in excessively high testosterone levels and being canned by the UFC as a result, Chael Sonnen would see his own suspension for a TRT-caused drug test failure expire?

There are many different ways to look at this one:

–Sonnen failed a test and immediately laid a bed of sloppily-constructed lies to sleep in by first saying that he had previously had his supposed testosterone replacement therapy approved by the NSAC, which director Keith Kizer said was not true. He then changed his story and said that his Team Quest teammate Matt Lindland claimed to have talked to Kizer, which Kizer says also never happened. Marquardt, on the other hand, had gained approval for the use of TRT for three fights already: against Rousimar Palhares, Yushin Okami and Dan Miller.

–Marquardt cost the UFC a main event on the week of UFC Live 4, which necessitated a lot of last-second switching to accommodate. Sonnen simply was found out after his UFC Middleweight Championship fight with Anderson Silva, though he would have been stripped of the belt and created a headache for Dana White and company as well, if he had beaten Silva.

–Sonnen received a length suspension that has kept him out of the sport from the Silva fight until now. He just now has had his California State Athletic Commission suspension end, and can apply for a license in any state now. Meanwhile, Marquardt was not suspended as he did not fight with excessive levels of testosterone in his system and would be free to fight once his levels dropped to normal levels…if he hadn’t been cut from the UFC.

On Dana White’s Twitter account, he said recently that his previous issues with Marquardt (presumably his failed drug test in the past and White’s criticism of his in-cage performances) had nothing to do with the decision, but then today responded to a poster on Twitter saying that Marquardt deserved a second chance with, “it would be his 4th chance!!!”

Clearly his history does have an effect on White’s decision to cut him immediately from the organization. However, others have failed drug tests before (which Marquardt did not do this time, by the way) and kept their jobs, even when titles had to be vacated because of suspensions.

How come Sonnen can blame a failed drug test after a championship fight on TRT, then lie multiple times about whether he was approved to receive TRT, and even be involved in a real estate scandal and keep his job while Marquardt loses his? Particularly when Marquardt kept the commission informed every step of the way and even the director of the PSAC, Greg Sirb said that everyone knew with six weeks to go before the fight that there could be an issue that may keep Marquardt from fighting?

Could it be that Sonnen’s mistake came after he had already delivered a fight of the year candidate on a highly-anticipated card that brought in millions of dollars of income? Is the issue not so much the use of TRT but the inconveniencing of White and the UFC by causing a last-minute switch of the main event?

Dana White had spoken about the issue before Marquardt revealed what actually happened, and said words like “disgusted” to describe his feelings towards Marquardt’s actions. Does that seem appropriate now if Marquardt was only doing something that he had already done for three fights previous to his planned bout with Rick Story? It doesn’t sound like it. If you’re going to kick guys out for using TRT or even using PEDs, go ahead and do it. But be consistent. Don’t simply kick some guys out and not others based upon how inconvenient their timing was.

No matter where you stand on TRT, it’s more than a little messed up that Marquardt will be watching on cable without a UFC contract like the rest of us the next time Sonnen competes in the Octagon.

Speaking of where people stand on TRT…

BJ Penn certainly hasn’t minced words when it comes to Marquardt’s testosterone replacement therapy. It seems Penn has a very black-and-white view on any synthetic methods of enhancing performance, prescribed or otherwise: “If you can’t do it [off] carbs, fats, proteins and vitamins and minerals you’re weak!”

Seems sensible enough, though if someone was using TRT because of a condition that was beyond his control, such as congenital hypogonadism, the treatment would be perfectly legit. What makes it strange for Marquardt and Sonnen is that you won’t normally see andropause (or dramatically-lowered testosterone levels) in world-class athletes at such comparatively young ages as those two are still at. Furthermore, why didn’t they need it early in their career? Congenital hypogonadism, for example, is a life-long problem. Well, one reason one can see testosterone levels take a dive would be prolonged use of anabolic steroids in one’s past.

This little wrinkle means that you could be using TRT for perfectly legit reasons or for perfectly slimy ones. We need someone to draw the line for us, here. Hey, how about you, Keith Kizer?

NSAC’s Keith Kizer gives thoughts on TRT

Tapout’s Mike Straka asked Kizer about his thoughts on TRT and Kizer had this to say: “You don’t want an athlete to have to choose between getting better and competing…if, in fact, he can do both without either putting himself at an unfair risk or his opponent at an unfair [dis]advantage.”

So, it would seem that Kizer would be fine with TRT as long as:

a) a legitimate doctor provides proof that the treatment is needed,
b) everything (i.e. the treatment plan) is documented as it is supposed to be and
c) the athlete isn’t putting others at a disadvantage due to excess testosterone.

However, there’s another wrinkle that would concern Marquardt. Kizer says that an athlete would have not have failed a drug test because of PED use in the past in order to qualify for such an exemption. As someone who has failed a prior drug test, Marquardt would then seem to be ineligible under those terms. Kizer says that he finds this part important because low testosterone due to previous steroid use would be a “self-inflicted injury” of sorts.

Other notes about Sonnen and/or Marquardt

–It is worth noting (and perhaps bolding and underlining) that Sonnen still has to apply for a license and be accepted in whatever state he plans to fight in to compete in the future. If that state was California, you have to wonder whether they would be charitable enough to accept his request for a license when they just decided several weeks ago not to end his suspension in the first place.

–Whether or not you agree with Marquardt’s TRT use, it’s pretty classy that he found out about his being cut the way that the rest of the world did: from Twitter. So, even though the UFC (according to PSAC director Greg Sirb) was informed every step of the way from six weeks before the fight of the possible testosterone issue and Marquardt did everything he was supposed to do in terms of keeping everyone involved informed, White couldn’t contact him personally and tell him of his decision to cut him? I’m not sure what White gets out of telling people publicly that they will never fight in the UFC again, but it’s starting to become a little weird. It also sucks for Marquardt, considering that Strikeforce is now a Zuffa-run entity and he would probably be kept from signing there, as well. I guess a 10-4 record in the UFC matters little when you mess up a main event, right?

E-Mail Jon Hartley

Tags: Chael Sonnen, Dana White, Nate Marquardt, Strikeforce, UFC