Jon Fitch says TRT is a ‘joke’ devised to re-boost the testosterone of past steroid users

Michael Bisping says it's "cheating," Vitor Belfort and Chael Sonnen are on it and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White says he will "test the shit" out of fighters who need it.

Of course, I'm talking about the highly-debated and always controversial testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) that seems to be constantly grabbing mixed martial arts (MMA) media headlines.

Now, former No. 1 UFC welterweight contender, Jon Fitch, is giving his take on the issue, labeling the treatment a "joke." Furthermore, Fitch has come to the conclusion that TRT is simply a way to allow former steroid abusers to re-boost their testosterone.

The former Purdue Boilermaker also calls "bullshit" on any MMA fighter using the age-old excuse that they need the treatment in order to complete with the younger fighters.

Using himself as a prime example, the 35-year old says his testosterone levels are just as good as any of the young stars of today thanks to the simple fact that he didn't "wreck" his body with any performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).

Speaking to Fight Hub TV, Fitch touched on TRT as well as looked ahead to his debut with World Series of Fighting (WSOF) and talked about his sudden and unexpected release from the UFC ranks.

"HA! TRT? It is a joke. This is devised to let guys who have used steroids in their past re-boost their testosterone since they abused their bodies when they were younger. The guys using it, the ones who use the excuse of, ‘I am too old to compete with young guys,' - that's bulls***! I am 35 years old, and I promise, I would and will bet money that my testosterone levels are just as good as a younger fighter. You know why? Because I have not wrecked my body with steroids, never used ANY type of PED and train healthy and properly to compete."

After being cut last February following his unanimous decision loss to Demian Maia at UFC 156, the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) trained fighter says he was blown away by the fan support he received following the public announcement of his unexpected release.

He explains:

"It was and still is pretty awesome! And I want to thank the fans so much and I want to give them a little something extra for this next fight because that termination was pretty unexpected and unprecedented. I found out about everything like on a Monday and then the announcement came out like on a Wednesday or Thursday and I had kind of forgotten about it but then it was everywhere and my mom was calling me, other family, media and everyone was like, WTF? Probably not a day goes by where a fan tweets something about how BS it was to get cut like that and everything; it's pretty nice to feel that love and appreciation from the fans."

It didn't take long for Fitch to find a new home, signing with Ray Sefo's upstart promotion, WSOF.

As he prepares to make his much-anticipated debut with the Las Vegas-based promotion on June 14 of this year against Josh Burkman at WSOF 3, Fitch is well aware that "The People's Warrior" -- who is riding a four-fight win streak -- is an entirely different fighter than the one he faced seven years ago.

"It's brand new, that is how I am looking at it. I am not looking at our first fight as any type of indicator to this one. We both have changed and grown as fighters and I am really looking forward to going out there and putting on a great performance."

While Fitch says he doesn't look too far ahead when asked if he would ever consider re-signing with ZUFFA, an impressive win over Burkman wouldn't hurt his cause to get back on their radar.

But, as Jon proclaims, he is currently enjoying the "freedom" he has with WSOF. And that's something that is hard for anyone to give up.