Vitor Belfort may have the best example of “the pot calling the kettle black” in mixed martial arts history.
During an interview with MMAFighting , former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort criticized middleweight kingpin Chris Weidman for his testosterone levels ahead of their UFC 187 bout. Weidman took to the microphone after he defeated Belfort and complained about his opponent’s testosterone levels, saying they were off the charts despite testosterone replacement therapy being banned in MMA in February 2012.
However, Belfort was doing the finger pointing this time, saying that Weidman’s levels were suspiciously low.
“Did he stop cycling? Wasn’t he the one to stop cycling, because his testosterone was low? I was doing a treatment and paid the price, but have you ever thought about it, or no? Nobody ever talked about it. My levels were normal, his levels were low. How a kid at his age has low testosterone? The reality is everybody was doing cycling, with their testosterone. I didn’t hide anything. You all knew what I was doing, I was doing a treatment. And I still have the deficiency, I’m working with supplements and food. I have a life of sacrifice. I don’t have a normal social life. I won’t reveal my secret, and my doctor’s secret, but we have been using natural things to meet this demand.”
Vitor Belfort has had a long, well-documented history with failed drug tests and performance enhancing drugs. Belfort tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone following his October 2006 loss to Dan Henderson at Pride 32. Since then, Belfort has gone an astounding 10-0 in non-title matches. However, he’s lost all three championship opportunities he’s had since then.
Belfort was dealt a major blow in early 2014, as the Nevada Athletic Commission banned testosterone replacement therapy from use in mixed martial arts. Other athletic commissions followed suit, and Belfort was pulled from his planned bout with Chris Weidman so he could acclimate his body to not using TRT. He didn’t fight for well over a year, until Weidman disposed of him in under three minutes in May 2015.
For Belfort to accuse Weidman of performance enhancing drugs certainly seems like a case of throwing stones in a glass house. Belfort’s history is full of drug test issues, including a very sketchy situation in which he fought through at UFC 152. Also, Belfort reportedly failed a drug test last year, but because he wasn’t licensed in Nevada, where he was tested, he couldn’t be suspended. Weidman, however, has had no reported drug test failures.
Vitor Belfort is expected to face Dan Henderson for a third time on November 7.
[Photo by Josh Hedges/Getty Images Sports]