3. Testosterone Replacement Therapy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnmbqP9V3qM TRT has been at the centre of many MMA discussions recently. Many people argue that it gives the user an unfair advantage as it is designed to delay the effects of natural male aging. It has also been speculated that TRT is as bad as using steroids. Notable names in MMA such as Dan Henderson, Chael Sonnen and, most prolifically Vitor Belfort have all been given passes for TRT by the respective state they were fighting in. Recently, after much campaigning by UFC President Dana White, the use of TRT has been made illegal in MMA. This meant that fighters who had been on TRT for a long time would have to ween themselves off it as going cold turkey could be dangerous. Some speculate that this resulted in Vitor Belfort having to withdraw from his hugely anticipated title fight against Chris Weidman as he wouldnt be able to appear TRT-free by the date of the fight. However, this is just speculation and has not actually been confirmed by Belfort himself. The question is how much does TRT influence an athletes performance? The fact remains that while TRT may have affected his appearance, TRT did not make Vitor Belfort throw a head kick which almost decapitated Luke Rockhold. Also these men may be using TRT for personal reasons, so how far do you delve into someones private life before allowing them to fight?
Sam Heard
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Hailing from South East London, Sam Heard is an aspiring writer and recent graduate from the University of Warwick. Sam's favourite things include energy drinks, late nights spent watching the UFC with his girlfriend and annihilating his friends at FIFA.
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