Drysdale explains past PED test failure
Robert Drysdale: “It’s in the past. TRT is banned, and I’m cool without it. I don’t need it. I never needed it. It was my doctor’s decision, not mine.”
World-class Jiu-Jitsu player Robert Drysdale was expected to make his Octagon debut at UFC 167 in Nov of 2013. Then he failed a Nevada Athletic Commission test for an elevated T/E ratio, making him ineligible for the event.
Drysdale, who makes his debut this Sunday vs. Keith Berish at the TUF 19 Finale, spoke with Guilherme Cruz for MMAFighting about the failed test, and why he was sanctioned neither by the NSAC or by the UFC.
“It was a big misunderstanding,” said Drysdale. “I didn’t do anything dishonest. What really happened was a bureaucratic issue. I thought I had a license (for TRT), but one of the files wasn’t processed. They didn’t deny it, the thing was they didn’t process my file.
“There was no dishonesty. As soon as I found out about it, I sent them my papers and cleared that up. I was never suspended, and the UFC didn’t release me. I didn’t suffer any punishment because I didn’t do anything wrong. I couldn’t fight earlier because I got injured, that’s all.”
“It’s in the past. TRT is banned, and I’m cool without it. I don’t need it. I never needed it. It was my doctor’s decision, not mine.
“If you have a health issue, you’ll talk to a doctor. I would never talk to a plumber if I had a health issue, and I wouldn’t talk to a doctor if I had a plumbing issue. I won’t pretend I’m a specialist on this matter. I spoke to my doctors and heard their opinion. It’s a complicated process.”
“I changed my diet and my life. I think that my testosterone levels came back low because I trained so hard and never rested. I was obsessed with training. I believed that overtraining was a myth and rest was for lazy people, so I trained twice a day, seven days a week. I’m taking care of myself now.”
Perhaps the kindest thing that can be said right now is that it is good the TUE for TRT era in mixed martial arts is at an end.