Nate Marquardt says he's off TRT ahead of Strikeforce debut in July

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

One of the more publicized instances of a fighter being on testosterone replacement therapy was the case of Nate Marquardt. The one-time UFC Middleweight Championship contender, who had once tested positive for the steroid nandrolone, was released from the UFC last summer after being taken out of a bout with Rick Story on the day of the weigh-ins.

Marquardt was taken out of the fight because his testosterone levels were higher than acceptable for the treatment, which was revealed to be the issue the following week. Marquardt's use of the treatment was questioned by many to begin with, and those questions will grow louder with the revelation he made in an interview with Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour on Monday.

"I didn't know if I was going to be able to fulfill my dreams going that route," Marquardt said, revealing that he was off the treatment ahead of his Strikeforce debut in July. "I just feel it was so much of a hassle and stress with the commissions and all that, I guess, that the right thing for me to do right now is to choose not to do it. And you know, definitely I've pursued a lot of other stuff to try to help my health and a lot of it's helping. I feel great right now. I'm in really good shape, and that's not something I'm worried about right now."

The head-turning aspect of this news is that it definitely brings into question the validity of him using the treatment in the first place. Once needed, TRT is a treatment that is supposed to be necessary for the rest of the patient's life. Marquardt getting off of it absolutely makes his use of it in the first place come under scrutiny. Still, he maintains that he had a medical need for it at the time he was undergoing the treatment.

"I'm sure there are guys who misuse TRT, but there's also guys who plain out use steroids," he said. "Guys are going to cheat no matter what. That's something that you can't get around."

Marquardt returns to action on July 14, taking on Tyron Woodley for the vacant Strikeforce Welterweight Championship.

Penick's Analysis: Yep, TRT isn't a loophole at all. This is the major problem with the prevalence of this treatment in the sport right now. If Marquardt was able to get the treatment prescribed without his system being damaged to the point that he needed to be on it for life - as is what is supposed to the case - then the original diagnoses doesn't really hold up. And if Marquardt was prescribed the treatment on a faulty diagnoses, that makes it extremely questionable as to how it was diagnosed in the first place. And that further brings into question those others being diagnosed in the sport as well. It's a story that unravels rather quickly for Marquardt, and it certainly doesn't paint his use of the treatment last year in a good light.

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