Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) in MMA

Mixed Martial Arts has had another major fight with potentially career changing results and another surprise TRT exemption.  The need for TRT is not something I am qualified to discuss.  I am not a doctor and I do not play one on TV.  That is not what this blog is about, it is about how this alleged medical condition plays into MMA.

Shortly after the Belfort/Bisping fight on UFC on FX 7, it was revealed, after much media buzz around a (false) rumor about Belfort failing the drug tests, that Vitor Belfort had sought and been granted a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) from Comissao Atletica Brasileira de MMA (the Brazilian athletic commission). The CABMMA is relatively new, organized just last year on the model of New Jersey’s commission by the UFC’s Marc Ratner. Marc Ratner is the Vice President of Regulatory Affairs with the UFC, and earlier in his career he was the Executive Director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. I think it’s fair to say this new Brazilian commission is the defacto standard that the Zuffa would like to see implemented everywhere.

This brings us to the main point of this blog: The commissions are, in theory, guided by HIPAA regulations under which the granting of TUE’s and TRT use are considered private medical information and not reported to the public or anyone other than the fighter, his immediate family, and his registered representation. On that basis, most commissions do not disclose TRT exemptions unless pressed. On the face of it, this seems to make sense. But it leads directly to a real problem. In the case of Belfort v Bisping, was Michael Bisping’s team aware of Belfort’s TRT use before the fight? To me this is the heart of the issue. If it is important for the Commission to know that you need TRT to be normal then your opponent should know too. How would knowing that Vitor Belfort was on TRT have changed Michael Bisping’s fight plan?

Sometimes the consequences are life changing. Not too long ago an older fighter was facing another in his 20’s. In interviews before the fight the older athlete claimed he had the best camp of his life. Based on how he felt and what he knew of his opponent he was sure he would be able to face and keep pace with the much younger man. What he didn’t know was the 20 something had a TUE and was on TRT. The older fighter fought well, but lost by KO late in the fight. He announced his retirement that night explaining that it was time, he felt he was a step behind the whole fight. Given he was unaware of all the facts, was this a fair situation? His fight plan was based on out of date information, of how his opponent performed without TRT. The point of TRT is to return the fighter to peak ability. If we accept that TRT works as advertised, any plan based on diminished performance isn’t going to apply after TRT is allowed. If the point of the regulations is to ensure a level playing field, then we have failed massively. As applied in this case, the regulations virtually guaranteed a strategic advantage to the fighter with the TUE.

The fix for this part of the TRT/TUE puzzle isn’t difficult. Those that are granted TRT exemptions should sign a waiver allowing the Athletic Commission to inform the opponent. The Promoter should be able to disclose. There is not one good reason to not tell the opponent that the person he or she is facing is chemically altered. With everyone on the same page, informed decisions can be made. Let the fighters decide their own fate.