View Full Version : B.J. Penn Critical of Expanding TRT Use: 'The Needle Is Not the Answer'

26-07-2011, 07:05
B.J. Penn (http://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/bj/penn/361/) has never been afraid to speak his mind, even if it has gotten him into hot water in the past. Following the recent situation surrounding Nate Marquardt (http://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/nate/marquardt/372/) and his testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) issues, Penn was one of the few fighters to criticize what seems to be a growing practice in the MMA world.

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. Penn said he took personal interest in the case because as he revealed, he was probably going to fight the winner of Marquardt's proposed match with Rick Story (http://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/rick/story/669/), a bout that never happened after Marquardt's testosterone to epitestosterone ratio didn't return to normal levels in time to be granted a therapeutic usage exemption.

"I think everyone is really of the same opinion as I am, if they want to admit it or not," he said. "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," he continued. "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."

Penn criticized TRT usage as the easy way out of problems associated with training. He said that he's often faced issues in his camp related to overtraining when his body was exhausted and out of whack.

"Peaking" is an athletic phenomenon that is part science, part trial-and-error, in which athletes manipulate their training cycle in an effort to have their body performing at maximum levels at game time (or fight time). There are potential problems with the process, however, and mistiming your peak can be the difference between winning and losing. Overtraining, meanwhile, can lead to lower testosterone levels. While some fighters are getting that addressed with TRT, Penn believes it can simply be an unfortunate side effect of the process. As such, he's from the old school that fights through it.

"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," he said.

Asked how prevalent he thinks the process is, he says he doesn't ask around, but after being in the sport for 10 years, he says he knows that boosting testosterone levels is quite common. The surprising part to him was learning how easy it is to do now, and he also added that many people, including well-known coaches in the sport, have talked to him about trying one of the treatments to boost his own performance.

Penn said that every time, he's resisted.

"I always said no," he said. "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."

Penn heads back to the cage at UFC (http://www.mmafighting.com/ufc) 137 in October. Though a rematch with Jon Fitch (http://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/jon/fitch/339/) was expected, Fitch's shoulder injury would have him sidelined past that date, and the UFC moved on, pairing Penn with the surging Carlos Condit (http://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/carlos/condit/663/), who has won 12 of his last 13.

Penn says he had no preference of opponent but acknowledged that after Fitch was ruled out, a fight with Condit made sense. He believes with two or three more wins, he could gain another welterweight championship match, but he also harbors hopes of returning to the lightweight division again in the future.

That's a far cry from how he felt in late February after fighting Fitch to a draw. Afterward, he contemplated retirement, but now he says that's far from his mind.

"I think I was just in a down moment right there," he said. "I believe in my heart I could beat Jon Fitch, and I was just kind of embarrassed at how the fight ended up. Maybe I was just thinking some negative thoughts at the time. I'd love to come in and fight all the best guys and do something in the welterweight division."

26-07-2011, 09:15
Thanks... Blijf het nog steeds een topper vinden die Penn... love him or hate him

27-07-2011, 18:58
Tim Kennedy Adjusting to Life on the Zuffa Roster, Hoping for a Brighter Future

Tim Kennedy (http://www.mmafighting.com/tag/TimKennedy/) is the kind of guy who tends to deal in absolutes. To the Army Ranger and pro fighter, there's right and there's wrong and there's no mistaking the two. For instance, take his stance on testosterone replacement therapy, which some fighters stand behind, at least in cases of legitimate medical need.

"I think it's cheating," Kennedy told MMA Fighting (http://www.mmafighting.com/). "If you're having to take testosterone to balance out a medical condition, then you shouldn't be fighting. I know people will say, 'Oh, he's within the normal limits.' Well, he's within the normal limits when he's tested."

Technically, according to the athletic commissions, it's a practice that's fair and legal as long as you can produce the right doctors' notes and hit the right hormone levels at the right time. But just because you can get away with something like that, Kennedy said, it doesn't mean you should.

"I know I could walk into my doctor and say the exact same thing that everyone else says and get prescription testosterone. Then, when I know my test is coming up, I can reduce my testosterone levels. It's an advantage, and it's an unfair advantage."

Kennedy is just as passionate about calling out guys he sees breaking the rules in other areas, such as fellow middleweight Michael Bisping (http://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/michael/bisping/368/), who benefited from an illegal knee against Jorge Rivera (http://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/jorge/rivera/157/) in their February meeting.

"It's not really Bisping specifically, it's just guys that cheat," Kennedy said. "It's not some holier-than-thou thing, like I'm some boy scout who always does the right thing -- I don't. But my sport -- mixed martial arts -- is based on honor, integrity. Every time guys cheat -- whether it's in the fight or with performance-enhancing drugs -- it really disappoints me and embarrasses me. Unfortunately, I think it encourages people, because with a situation like Bisping, not only did he cheat in the fight and then spit in [Rivera's] corner, then he was rewarded by becoming an Ultimate Fighter coach. That sends the wrong message."

Of course, you could argue that now might not be the best time to criticize the way Zuffa manages its roster. Ever since purchasing Strikeforce (http://www.mmafighting.com/strikeforce/) this past spring, the UFC's parent company is the biggest player by far in the MMA world, and when Kennedy takes on Robbie Lawler (http://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/robbie/lawler/471/) at Saturday night's Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Fedor event, he'll be working for Zuffa for the first time in his 16-fight career.

But holding his tongue just to please the brass isn't exactly Kennedy's style, which is why he can't help himself when the conversation turns to how Zuffa's stance on sponsors has affected his own personal finances after clothing company Ranger Up was put on the no-go list for this fight.

"It is a big, huge hit, financially," said Kennedy, who added that he "might" be able to sport a National Guard sponsor logo, but otherwise has "zero sponsors."

"Last time, I made about as much in sponsors as I did for my purse. This time I have none of that. ... It's a pretty gigantic problem. Half of my income was pretty much just [sponsors]. It'd be like, whatever your salary is at AOL, they said, 'We're just going to pay you half of that now.' That said, I'm excited about the potential benefits of [Zuffa's] marketing prowess and ability to get your name out there. Also, some of the match-ups are really intriguing. But I haven't seen any of those benefits yet."

You'd think, at least on paper, that Kennedy would be one of the fighters to benefit most from the change in ownership. Zuffa has the ability to get his compelling story of service and sacrifice out to the masses, and it also has the talent pool to provide him with a wider array of potential opponents -- at least, eventually.

For now though, Kennedy will have to content himself with what Strikeforce has to offer, which is why he said he called out Lawler to begin with.

"I knew they weren't going to give me a title shot in my first fight after [defeating] Melvin, so I wanted the next best guy. I think that Robbie is without a doubt the next best guy in Strikeforce, besides [middleweight champion Ronaldo] "Jacare" [Souza] himself. I didn't want to fight up-and-comers. I wanted to fight big name guys, and that's Robbie."

The question is, if he gets past Lawler, then what? At that point he'll have fought almost all the top middleweights on the Strikeforce roster, and the only options left may be rematches (such as another crack at Souza) or a move to the UFC. One requires retreading the same ground all over again, while the other requires some contract maneuvering that may or may not be immediately plausible.

For the 31-year-old Kennedy, it's a question he can't wait forever to get an answer to. The future still seems to hold more promise than the past for his fighting career, but that will only get you so far. Especially when your trunks are devoid of sponsors and you're running out of new guys to fight, promises won't pay your bills.