Nate Marquardt has finally revealed the reason why he was suddenly pulled from the main event of UFC live on Versus 4 this weekend and cut by the organisation.
The former middleweight contender revealed on The MMA Hour yesterday that after consultation with his doctor he had been prescribed Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) as far back as August 2010 prior to his fight with Dan Miller.
Marquardt explained that he had been suffering from sluggishness, memory loss and irritability to the detriment of his family life which led him to seek medical advice.
While this treatment was approved by the New Jersey State Athletic Commission, it came with a condition; he must halt treatment for eight weeks after the fight so a New Jersey commission-approved endocrinologist could re-check his levels and make sure his natural levels were indeed low, making the therapy a medical necessity.
In this eight week break from treatment Nate accepted the fight against Rick Story. However, with three weeks until the fight his testosterone levels fell low and his doctor gave him a testosterone shot to combat the problem.
However, he expected his levels to return to acceptable levels by the time of the fight and applied for the same medical exemption in Pennsylvania he had received in New Jersey.
“The week of the fight I requested several tests,” Marquardt told Ariel Helwani. “Each test showed that the levels were going down. I took a test on weigh-in day, and it was still above the range the athletic commission was going to let me fight.”
“But [it was] in close proximity, and it had been trending down significantly throughout the week,” his manager Lex McMahon added.
It was then that the 14-fight veteran of the UFC was informed that he would not be allowed to fight an would be put on suspension.
Marquardt wished to emphasise that he had been completely open and honest with the UFC and Athletic Commissions he had to deal with about his medical therapy at all times.
UFC president Dana White has said the was he was “disgusted” by his actions and that he was “done” in the organisation.
However, this is not the first time White has told a fighter something like this, with his most famous reconciliation being with Tito Ortiz and more recently the surreal picture of Josh Barnett and White, an image no MMA fan thought they would ever see.
For now it seems Marquardt’s future is up in the air, with limited opportunities in North America outside of the Zuffa family for free agents.
Bellator is a potential home and reigning welterweight champion Ben Askren wasted no time in getting the former UFC title challenger’s attention via twitter:
“@nathanmarquardt you are a cheater, not once but frequently. Stop cheating, come to bellator and I will crush you. @bjornrebney”.
It will be very interesting to see where “The Great” goes from here.
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