If you aren’t sick of hearing about Vitor Belfort and his TRT then you probably haven’t been paying enough attention, because just about everyone has been ragging on Belfort for his use of TRT and for the fact that he only fights in Brazil of late, you know, where he doesn’t have to face as stringent of testing as he would in America. According to Belfort, though, it’s not about the TRT at all. No. He’s fighting in Brazil because that is what Brazilian fans want to see, which he claims is backed up by ticket sales for UFC events with him on the card in Brazil.
“A lot of fighters are on TRT right now, (but) everybody’s saying that’s why I fight there,” Belfort said on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “But I believe the reason why I fight in Brazil is because I sell a lot in Brazil. I miss fighting in Las Vegas and other places, but I don’t see any problems that I’m not fighting (there) because I sell big in Brazil. Makes sense for them and makes sense for me.”
For those who claim Belfort isn’t well tested when he fights in Brazil, he has an answer for that. And “The Phenom” warns Henderson that, if he applies for TRT, he will have to do some extra tests.
“Brazil is the only place that they do blood tests after the fight,” he said. “Now, I’m fighting a guy who’s on TRT too. They are very surprised that they will have to test blood too. Two months before the fight I have to do blood tests, at least once a month. I do that on my own every week too. It’s important. I’m just trying to be fair with everybody and also with myself.”