White on Belfort: It’s all going to work out

Testosterone Replacement Therapy appears to be gone from mixed martial arts, or at least very, very, very rare, as it should be. However, the repercussions continue.

Vitor Belfort, who became the poster child for TRT, was administered a surprise, out-of-competition PED test by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Shortly thereafter he declined to apply for a license, citing the new policy banning TRT.

Belfort’s attorney has said that the fighter was at the time of the test receiving TRT, under the care of an MD. However, NSAC guidelines require that a fighter who applies for a Therapeutic Use Exemption for TRT not be doing it at the time.

This could present a problem for Belfort getting licensed in Nevada. However, during a UFC 173 pre-fight press media event on Thursday, UFC president Dana White expressed confidence that Belfort would get licensed.

“It’s absolutely irrelevant because I’m telling you right now we tested the s— out of [Belfort] before every fight he fought,” said White as transcribed by MMAFighting. “I don’t remember at what point it was but I said, ‘Believe me, we’re going to put him through the wringer with the TRT thing’ and we did. He complied to everything he was asked to do. He was tested. He was always within his limits. Vitor Belfort was never cheating.”

“Then it became a thing where TRT was looked at when you looked at Vitor and how he fought and how he looked and everything else. That’s what the stuff was designed to do. Stuff is designed to make a guy my age work like a guy Jon Jones’ age. That’s what TRT is for and it worked. It definitely worked for Vitor.

“The thing is with Vitor Belfort is he was never over his limits when he fought. Here’s the thing, lets say he came into Nevada and his levels were off the charts. He wasn’t fighting. Came [to Nevada] to talk about getting licensed and the thing was, ‘Welcome to Nevada. You want to be licensed here? You have to stop taking TRT.’ As a guy who’s not fighting, you can go around do whatever the hell you want with TRT, right?”

“I think it’s all going to work out. I’m telling you, the whole Vitor thing, you guys know. Vitor drives me nuts, but Vitor has gotten a bad rap on this whole thing. He’s gotten a bad rap.”

“When he showed up in Nevada the thing that was bad about that is he showed up and [the NSAC was] like, ‘You’re on testosterone?’ ‘Yea, I’m on testosterone. Everybody know that.’ ‘You shouldn’t have come to Nevada until you were off it.’ I’m so glad TRT is gone. So much better for the sport.”

White’s confidence is bolstered by the fact that there are multiple places Belfort can fight, beyonf Nevada.

“I’ll consider him fighting anywhere,” said White. “Wherever he lands, he’ll land.”