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Face of UFC Testosterone Replacement Therapy fighting to erase PED stigma

LAS VEGAS – The chairman of the Nevada Athletic Commission laughed nervously at the mention of Vitor Belfort’s name, but quickly said, “He’s clean.”

And in Belfort’s world, that’s news.

Belfort will challenge Chris Weidman for the middleweight title on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden in UFC 187, trying to join Randy Couture and B.J. Penn as only the third two-division champion in UFC history.

As with most things with Belfort these days, that will come with an asterisk.

Right or wrong, fair or unfair, Belfort is sort of the poster boy for the drug woes that have plagued mixed martial arts in general and the UFC in particular for the last 15 years or so.

Belfort tested positive once in 2006 when he was competing in PRIDE. But much of his recent success, which led to his title shot against Weidman, came when he was bulked up while using the since-banned testosterone replacement therapy.

Vitor Belfort's improved physique in 2013 raised a lot of eyebrows. (AP)
Vitor Belfort's improved physique in 2013 raised a lot of eyebrows. (AP)

Francisco Aguilar, the chairman of the Nevada commission, said Belfort has been drug-tested numerous times, by both his state and California, since he was licensed at a 2014 hearing in Las Vegas.

“We have tested Mr. Belfort quite a bit and he has passed everything we’ve given him thus far,” Aguilar said.

Belfort has never admitted to cheating, though many of his peers, the media and fans have accused him of it. Even his test failure in 2006 was a mistake, Belfort said. He said he was given injections by his physician that contained testosterone after surgery to repair a torn meniscus.

But that long ago incident might have been forgotten had Belfort not become the UFC’s face of the Testosterone Replacement Therapy Era. After a loss to Anderson Silva in a middleweight title fight at UFC 126, Belfort was prescribed TRT by his doctor, he said.

Suddenly, he packed on a lot more muscle and looked, in Weidman’s terms, far more “jacked” than he had previously. When he knocked out Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold and Dan Henderson with head kicks following the start of his TRT regimen, many questions arose.

TRT was banned last year and Belfort said he’s no longer using it.

“Actually now, if you see, I’m going in at a disadvantage, in my doctor’s opinion,” Belfort said of not being allowed to use TRT. “It’s a medical issue [why I needed TRT]. I always play fair.”

Belfort has gotten little sympathy because one of the byproducts of anabolic steroid usage is that the body suppresses its own production of testosterone. So after steroid use, men find they need to continue to take some exogenous testosterone to keep their total at normal levels.

It’s not easy to wean off it, and Belfort said he had a lot of difficulty.

“It’s hard; in the beginning, it was hard to adapt [to training without TRT],” Belfort said. “But I have a good team, good doctors. My life now, I don’t get cheat meals any more. Everything for me has to be on point. If you want something, you just got to go get it with no excuse, no excuses at all. I feel my best. I’m in the best shape of my life. I’ve never felt this ready.”

Belfort has undergone as much scrutiny as anyone in the sport. He’s hardly the first guy to have used or to be suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs in the UFC, and he won’t be the last.

A group of reporters hung on his every word as he discussed his issues, but he said he isn’t fixated on it and won’t let the controversy that surrounds him impact his performance.

“I just enjoy the moment,” Belfort said. “I have a mindset about life where I know there are a lot of expectations. You guys [in the media] are doing your jobs, and you want to know this and know that. Imagine if I let all this [impact] my mind. I would not be able to do my role.

Belfort poses for a portrait during a UFC photo session on Wednesday. (Getty)
Belfort poses for a portrait during a UFC photo session on Wednesday. (Getty)

“My role here is just to be ready as a gladiator and to perform. I think I’ve done a good job at that. I’m just focused on what I have to do, and I’ll let the outcome take care of itself.”

In an attempt to explain his mental toughness and ability to focus on his job, Belfort called upon one of the most painful experiences of his life, the 2004 kidnapping in Brazil of his sister, Priscilla.

Priscilla has never been found and is presumed dead, and a woman admitted to her role in the plot several years later. However, the Belfort family hasn’t gotten closure because Priscilla’s remains have not been found.

His mother, he said, has been tortured by Priscilla’s absence.

“I’ve faced all kinds of trials in my life, as you can imagine,” Belfort said. “The worst thing in life is not death; it’s missing people [you love]. That’s one of the worst things, to call my mom every day and she’s depressed. It’s every day. Why? It’s like she’s going to a funeral every day. We don’t know where my sister is.

“When you overcome things like that in your life, things get sweeter. If there is a billionaire who has cancer, he’d trade everything he has in his life, his possessions, he would trade everything he has to have one more day of life with his family. I understand all of this [controversy surrounding me] is momentary and it’s going to pass. If I want to perform, if I want to do my best, I have to change my habits.”

So far, so good. He’s passed all of the tests given to him by both the Nevada and the California commissions, and he’s been found to be clean of steroids or any other type of performance-enhancing drugs. Of course, he must still pass the fight night test he’ll be given.

And most importantly, he’ll have to defeat Weidman to win the championship.

He’s never going to be clear of the suspicisions surrounding his career, but he’s at peace with that.

He can’t change anyone’s opinion and he’s no longer going to try.

“I’m just going to do my best and always try to do the right thing and not worry about any of this other stuff,” he said. “I’m comfortable knowing I’m doing what I’m supposed to do. That’s fine with me.”

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