Testing ...1, 2, 3.
Chael Sonnen, of all people, is praising Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White, who vowed to make life miserable for abusers of Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT).
Those are strange words to type, considering the source.
The UFC 159 headliner delivered his message on a recent episode of UFC Tonight to inform mixed martial arts (MMA) fans he's already been tested for TRT ahead of his April 27 title fight against Jon Jones, scheduled for the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, and he's glad someone is finally taking a stand against the "abuse."
"I love that he has changed his stance. Don't ever be afraid to change your opinion when confronted with new evidence. Now, for me, this is Dana White's crowning moment, both as a leader and also from an integrity standpoint. No executive anywhere, whether it's a sports or business executive, would shine a light on his own organization and say, 'Hey, we've got a problem and it needs to be addressed right now.' And I'll tell you, we're not just talking about testosterone use, guys, we're talking about abuse. He did the right thing.... And it's already been started since this announcement has been made -- I was tested four days ago."
Rest easy, "Bones," your opponent -- who is reportedly 240 pounds and "ripped" -- is still playing by the rules.
Past and present inductees into the TRT club include Dan Henderson, Forrest Griffin, Vitor Belfort and Frank Mir, among others. The train went off the rails when Alistair Overeem returned a 14:1 testosterone-to-epitestosterone (T/E) level during a surprise drug test last May.
And "The Phenom" fiasco didn't help matters any.
Sonnen, who reportedly suffers from hypogonadism (his nads are sperm challenged), was bagged and tagged by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) back in August 2010 for improperly disclosing his TRT prior to his first fight against Anderson Silva in Oakland.
It cost him six months on the sidelines.
"The American Gangster," who will be 36 by the time he fights Jones, has since properly disclosed his TRT use (which began back in 2008) to athletic commissions prior to competing in the states of Illinois at UFC on FOX 2, Texas at UFC 136 and Nevada at UFC 148.
You can expect another therapeutic use exemption (TUE) when he returns to the Octagon in April.
Anyone think Chael is hiding in plain sight? Or has a legitimate user of TRT been unfairly lumped in with the "cheaters" Dana White is trying to expose?