The talk of the town has been Vitor Belfort’s TRT usage, something that has plagued his every fight over the past few years and looks to be going nowhere. A lot of the criticism has been pointed at Vitor Belfort as he has been fighting in Brazil a lot, not in the United States where it is more difficult to acquire a therapeutic use exemption for TRT. But, now with another Vitor Belfort title shot looming over the horizon, it looks inevitable and Keith Kizer looks like he is here to help. [link]
“Due to his past, Mr. Belfort would need to go before the Commission if he applies for a TRT TUE,” Kizer told MMAFighting.com. “This is not anything new. (For example, I would not administratively grant Antonio Margarito a contestant’s license so he had to appear before the full Commission — likewise, Dave Herman.)
“The Commissioners could grant (with or without condition), deny, or take other action on any such application.”
While Kizer has voiced doubts in the past about whether Belfort would be granted a TUE by the NSAC, when asked about the scenario on Monday, Kizer responded that he couldn’t say what the outcome would be for certain, and that any final verdict, “would be up to the five Commissioners.”
Back in late-2006, Belfort infamously failed a post-fight drug test in Nevada, then disregarded the NSAC’s subsequent nine-month suspension and fought overseas in London the following April.
Regardless, if the situation arises, Belfort doesn’t anticipate running into any problems in Nevada.
“It’s easy, Chael Sonnen’s fighting in Las Vegas,” Belfort said on Saturday. “We here, we do everything by the book. I’m just gonna take my blood right now, after [the press conference], so everything is good. We can get licensed, that’s no problem.”