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Dana White’s anger at Nate Marquardt is over incompetence, not TRT usage

By Zach Arnold | July 2, 2011

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RON KRUCK: “The big news this week, of course, was Nate Marquardt breaking his silence and admitting that Testosterone Replacement Therapy, TRT, was the reason that he was suspended by the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission. Now that you’ve heard his, his, um, admittance of that, Dana, what is your reaction?”

DANA WHITE: “This is a tough one and it’s a tough one for me because the laws in the state of Pennsylvania are you can’t talk about a guy’s medicals and, you know me, you know, I talk about everything, I let it all out there and it is what it is. So, that’s why last week when this was going onI basically what I said is he needs to man up and tell everybody what’s going on and I think the testosterone therapy thing, it’s real, people do do it, what it is is after guys, when you get in your 40s and 50s, men’s testosterone starts to go down so they bump it back up to the levels that they used to be and there’s guy now that are younger doing it for whatever their reasons are and, you know, it gets to the point where… how much are you taking? You know, you’re supposed to take this amount to get to the right levels. Guys are taking too much and, as far as I’m concerned, that’s performance-enhancing. Now you’re cheating.”

RON KRUCK: “This isn’t the first time that we’ve heard about TRT involved with a Mixed Martial Artist. Is it a problem within the sport right now?”

DANA WHITE: “Well, it hasn’t been a problem until the main event, you know, got canceled the other day. But, yeah, I could see where this could start to be a problem and that’s why I want to let all these guys know, this won’t be tolerated. This will not be tolerated and, it’s uh, if you’re going in and you’re going to a reputable doctor and the doctor is watching your levels and making sure you’re taking the right amount, this thing should be a piece of cake. But when you come in and fail your medicals because of testosterone therapy or treatment or whatever the hell you want to call it? That’s a problem, you know, and it’s not going to be tolerated here.”

RON KRUCK: “Is it one of those things where you believe that the athletic commissions need to come up with a universal standard, at this point, that TRT is either a accepted process or not?”

DANA WHITE: “No, I think they have, it has nothing to do with the athletic commission. I think the athletic commissions have come out and said, yeah, we do do this, but you don’t come in over the levels that you’re supposed to be! There’s nothing wrong with somebody doing this testosterone therapy unless you go too high and the commission doesn’t care. If you come in and you’re over the level, you don’t fight, you’re done. You know? And you won’t fight again until your levels come back at a normal range. So, it has nothing to do with the commission, it’s 100% on the fighter and their doctors.”

RON KRUCK: “So, what should Nate Marquardt have done differently, in your opinion?”

DANA WHITE: “Well, Nate Marquardt knew that he had to test and he had to be at a normal level and he failed his medicals, you know? That’s 100% Nate Marquardt and you can sit there and you can say, you know, ‘I didn’t know.’ We’ve heard that before, we’ve heard that from athletes before saying, ‘I didn’t know, I’m not a doctor, I’m not this, that.’ So you’re not going to get involved in your own business, you, yourself, your physical well-being and what’s going on with you that you can come in and, uh… pass your medicals, basically, you know, you’re going to leave that in the hands of somebody else and you’re not going to know everything about it and be on top of it? I don’t buy that. I don’t buy it.”

RON KRUCK: “Now that Nate has come out and said TRT was the reason he was suspended, is there a chance that you might invite him back into the UFC or is he finished?”

DANA WHITE: “No, he’s finished. As far as I’m concerned, you know… He tested positive for steroids the first time when he first got busted. I was there for him, I supported him. So, listen, we make mistakes, you need to get out there, he did all the right things. Then he comes back and pops high, New Jersey puts him on suspension, and then he comes back and doesn’t pass his medicals in Pennsylvania. I mean, you tell me, I mean I know there’s people out there saying that I’m being harsh. Do you think this guy deserves another chance?

“How about Rick Story? Rick Story, a kid who beat Thiago Alves, right? This young, up-and-coming kid Rick Story, beats Thiago Alves, takes a back-to-back fight, jumps right back into the gym, doesn’t take any time off, to fight Nate Marquardt because that’s a big name and that’s somebody he can beat, right? So, Nate Marquardt does this to him, too, and does this the day of the weigh-ins. Now Rick Story’s head’s all messed up, he’s not fighting Nate Marquardt now, the opponent’s been pulled out, he’s got to re-do all of his interviews and shoot the show open again and all this other stuff the day of the weigh-ins? I find it VERY, very hard to feel that much sorrow for Nate Marquardt.”

Later on, Ron Kruck asks the following…

RON KRUCK: “Chael Sonnen, his suspension in California came to an end. Your thoughts on that?”

DANA WHITE: “Should have been ended a month ago, they’re a month late but better late than never. You know, we’ll get him in there and get him fighting.

“And I actually got one for you and this is something nobody asked me this today, but people are saying, ‘Well, what’s the difference between Chael Sonnen and Nate Marquardt, that he’s going to do this to Nate Marquardt…’ Chael Sonnen got busted, paid his due, paid his fines, went through all this other stuff, and… then came back and applied for his license and now has a license. Nate Marquardt did that once and then came back and then got popped again over in New Jersey and had to come back at in the regular levels before he could fight in Pennsylvania and then failed his medicals in Pennsylvania. That’s the difference between Chael Sonnen and Nate Marquardt.”

RON KRUCK: “Great point. When should we expect Sonnen to be back?”

DANA WHITE: “Any time, now, I mean as we soon as we can make a fight for him, we’ll bring him back.”

Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 42 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

42 Responses to “Dana White’s anger at Nate Marquardt is over incompetence, not TRT usage”

  1. 45 Huddle says:

    Marquardt’s low testosterone is because of previous steroid use. And this was after he swore to Zuffa that he wasn’t roiding when he pissed hot in the past.

    I’m sure White feels lied to. Especially because they defended Marquardt back then.

  2. Sundog says:

    Heres the thing: it’s Marquadt’s job to show up and fight. He didn’t take responsibility for making that happen and he made it hard for anyone else to do their job either. Then, when you find out he’d already gotten lucky in New Jersey this spring with a benevolent comission, it’s infuriatingly negligent not to get more involved and at least get your numbers on point, if not go clean. Especially when you’ve been entrusted to main event a card.

    All of this bellyaching about a doctor messing up is only proving Dana right that Nate Maruadt won’t take responsibility for himself, and that’s not an employee I’d hire back. He’s either been reckless with my business’ welfare, or he’s so incompetent that he inhibits others.

  3. Nepal says:

    I wonder how Dana will handle it if Barnett wins the Strikeforce GP. He just compared Nate to Josh saying Barnett is rude and callous and a dick whereas Nate is a nice guy etc.

    If Barnett wins, I think Dana will have no choice but to bring him to the UFC (when the promotions merge that is… and as long as Barnett doesn’t lose after winning the GP) and just spin his story that Josh hasn’t tested hot in x years blah blah.

    • 45 Huddle says:

      I think they should schedule his next fight for California and let the fun begin….

      Cormier can be thrown in there to replace him anyways, so it’s not like he is required for the tournament.

  4. Kalle says:

    If Barnett wins the HW GP I hope he goes back to Japanese pro wrestling. More likely he ends up with Bellator, but personally I don’t want that cheating bastard anywhere near a legit competition.

    Besides, if he win’s he’s still not licensed in California or Nevada and I pray that the UFC feels the need to play nice with the sanctioning bodies overrides their desire to make money off him.

  5. […] Dana is under the impression that Sonnen has already been granted a new license. Transcription via Fight Opinion: RON KRUCK: “Chael Sonnen, his suspension in California came to an end. Your thoughts on […]

  6. Chris says:

    Who is he trying to fool? If Nate Marquardt had any kind of drawing power he would not have been released.

  7. The Gaijin says:

    Always a little odd to see James Thompson doing security detail for David Haye.

  8. Chuck says:

    Klitchsko/Haye was crap…..SHOCKING!! No fault of Wladimir, he was doing his thing. Gotta blame Haye for throwing in the single digits. He landed some good bombs, but man did he do NOTHING except flop to the ground to try to get Wlad point-deducted (Wlad got point deducted for throwing Haye to the canvas. Haye kept bouncing around and ducking low, it was bound to happen).

    Hopefully Vitali Klitchsko/Tomasz Adamek will be more competitive (it will be. Adamek will actually throw more than 20 punches per round).

    • 45 Huddle says:

      Imagine GSP vs. Cain Velasquez.

      That’s what Vlady vs. Adamek is basically like. A natural 175 pounder vs. a legit Heavyweight.

      • Chuck says:

        Yeah that is a pretty good comparison, but it should be a competitive fight. It happens September 10th.

      • Chuck says:

        It’s Vitali that is fighting Adamek, not Wladimir. Vitali is even bigger than Wlady!

        • david m says:

          Adamek has been fighting at 200 since 2007, and it is pretty easy to imagine he was cutting weight. He weighs 215 or so in his HW bouts, which is probably what he walked around at when at Cruiser.

  9. 45 Huddle says:

    Heavyweight Boxing makes Heavyweight MMA look great by comparison….

    • Chuck says:

      Can’t argue with that.

    • The Gaijin says:

      That was just SAD…as a long time boxing fan I am disgusted. Disgusted but not surprised.

      Once again a fighter, a Brit fighter, talked a gigantic game and how he was going to be going for the KO, coming to fight and going out on his shield…only to come in and put on a f**kin’ stinkbomb like that. He fought like a total chickens#*t.

      Just awful. Just embarrassing.

  10. 45 Huddle says:

    UFC 132 has been awesome so far.

    I am shocked Tito Ortiz won….

  11. Jonathan says:

    What is this…2001? Tito Ortiz with a victory against a ranked 205lb fighter?

    Now does this mean Ortiz beat one guy, or was Bader over-rated from the beginning, or is Tito “back”?

    • Chuck says:

      I can’t wait for the middleweight title defense against Yuki Kondo!

      And the fight of the century! Cain Velasquez defending the heavyweight title against……..Gan Magee!

  12. 45 Huddle says:

    I thought it was 29-28 Siver…. Good decision.

    BE had it for Siver. 2 of the 3 guys at Sherdog had it for Siver. So did MMA Junkie.

  13. PizzaChef says:

    The mere sight of the Bieber pissed me off.

  14. 45 Huddle says:

    I have it tied at 2 rounds each going into the 5th…. But a few rounds could have gone either way on the judhes score cards. This one is very hard to score.

    • 45 Huddle says:

      3 to 2 rounds for Cruz. And the first round was the hardest to figure out, but I had it for Faber.

      So it would be 4 to 1 for Cruz.

  15. PizzaChef says:

    Funny, the judges judge it how various people saw it.

    I still think Cruz won it though. Great fight, people shouldn’t boo.

  16. david m says:

    I thought Urijah won. LOL at 50-45. What a joke. Worst scorecard was someone giving Nojukauni(sp) only a 10-9 first round. MMA judging is horrid.

    Awesome show. In mmath, Tito > JJ hahahaha

    Leben is an animal. Wanderlei needs to retire.

    • 45 Huddle says:

      You thought Faber won? At best he won 2 rounds. At worst he won the 4th. There is no way possible he won that fight no matter how you slice it.

      • david m says:

        So you admit he won 2 rounds and say there is no way he won. Well played.

        • 45 Huddle says:

          Well played? Not playing anything here.

          Cruz won rounds 2, 3, & 5. That automatically wins him the fight.

          Faber won round 4.

          The 1st round was a total toss up.

          Saying you thought Faber won either means you have a horrible eye for fights or are just trolling. There is no inbetween….

        • Chuck says:

          What 45 Huddle said made perfect sense. He said that Faber won maybe two rounds. To win on the scorecards you have to win THREE rounds (if all the rounds were 10-9 that is). Not hard to understand.

        • 45 Huddle says:

          Chuck is right.

          I am comfortable with 49-46 or 48-47 for Cruz. Both would be good scorecards. Even a 49-47 score card if a judge wanted to give the first round a draw.

          Having Faber winning in any manner would not be a good scorecard. It would show that you either didn’t watch the fight or are just trolling….

          Either way, enough with you and your boring troll comments.

          The fight was awesome. It didn’t top Edgar/Maynard 2, but it was certainly Top 5 of the year so far in terms of UFC fights.

        • david m says:

          Meh, to be honest I wasn’t really keeping score as closely as I should have been; call me Tony Weeks. It was a great fight either way. If I cared, I would watch again and judge objectively. Faber dropped Cruz with punches several times and landed harder blows throughout.

        • edub says:

          I had it 50-45. I thought Urijah was very close in terms of competition in 3 rounds, but I can’t say he did enough to win any of them. I think it was closest 50-45 we could ever see, but I still think it was 50-45.

          Great fight.

        • The Gaijin says:

          “So you admit he won 2 rounds and say there is no way he won. Well played.”

          Yes…which would mean he thought he lost 3. Winning 2 of 5 would mean there was no way he won. Well played…?

      • EJ says:

        Well said 45, I had it 4 rounds to 1 Cruz this fight reminded me of the second Benavidez/Cruz fight. Meaning that it was competitive but Cruz won 4 rounds by just doing more than his opponent. Whoever is going to beat him is going to have to have better cardio and be able to outwork him for 5 rounds and there’s no one at BW that can do that right now.

        • david m says:

          lol at trolling. Wow. After years of people literally telling Zach to IP ban you for being a troll, you say that about someone else. LOL.

          Regardless, show was fun. Leben is so much fun to watch. He is mma’s version of no Oliver McCall. Let’s see if any mma fanboys understand that reference.

        • Chuck says:

          I don’t remember Chris Leben ever crying during a fight because he was high on crack cocaine. I could be wrong.

        • edub says:

          Yea I don’t remember him crying in the middle of a fight either.

  17. […] this double talk, given what Dana White said to HDNet about TRT usage. I think the testosterone therapy thing, it’s real, people do do it, what it is is after guys, […]

  18. […] know the names of fighters who have been discussed in the media in relation to TRT. Chael Sonnen. Nate Marquardt. Dan Henderson. And now, you can add Rampage Jackson to the list. More on this […]

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