BJ Penn: The needle is not the answer
On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Penn elaborated on his thoughts regarding TRT and how it is quickly seeping…
On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Penn elaborated on his thoughts regarding TRT and how it is quickly seeping into the sport, saying the Marquardt case served as an education for him.
“I think everyone is really of the same opinion as I am, if they want to admit it or not. Stuff like this is not easy to talk about. We’re talking about friends and colleagues of mine. They look at me and they hear me say these things, and they’re like, ‘You know you’re the only guy that doesn’t do it, right?’ And I’m like, I know.
“It’s a catch-22 for me. I believe so strongly in fair play and all these things, and on the other side, it’s people you know and people you look up to, legends of the sport. They’ve been involved with stuff like that. I guess i shouldn’t be so outspoken because I have so many friends and colleagues and so many people I respect in this sport that have gotten involved with stuff like TRT and hormone replacement.”
“When you’re chi is down, you feel weak, and I’m sure it’s an easy way out to do all the testosterone and stuff, but I just couldn’t see myself doing it.”
“I always said no,” he said of well-known coaches in the sport talking to him about trying one of the treatments to boost his own performance. “I always believed that technique is what it was all about. That’s why I always took on the bigger challenges. That’s what jiu-jitsu is about. That’s why they have the absolute division, so when you’re a white belt in jiu-jitsu, you’re already practicing wrestling with bigger people. I always believed it was in the technique. I always believed the needle is not the answer. I always believed that. I still believe it today.”
