Tito Ortiz has had a lot to think about both going into and coming out of his UFC 148 rubber match with fellow former Light Heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin. Following a truly devastating first round TKO loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 140, Tito’s only request was to be allowed to complete the final bout of his contract. The UFC granted his request with the Griffin fight. It was closely fought, but, in the end, Griffin edged Ortiz out on the judges cards. Now, in the wake of UFC 148, Keith Kizer revealed that Forrest has been granted a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) for Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT).
Since that announcement, Tito has been very adamant about his disapproval of the treatment for MMA fighters. Ortiz will have the chance to voice his opinion on Inside MMA on AXS TV (Formerly HDNet) at 8PM ET/5PM PT. He’s expected to discuss a number of topics with hosts Kenny Rice and Bas Rutten including, Forrest’s exemption, “cheating” in MMA, and how the TUE revelation impacts his decision to retire from the sport.
[MMA] has come so far in such a short amount of time, I hope this doesn’t happen to become an epidemic. What type of message are we trying to send to the youths that are watching our sport? This is the same thing we’ve been trying to stop from happening. And all of a sudden, in the last six months it’s legal to do? You’re allowed to be 6 times over average? Since day one that I’ve been competing in the last 15 years, I’ve always been on an even field. Now other fighters can be on a higher [field], 6 times more than the average person. But I think we’re sending the wrong message to the fans and the kids that want to be UFC fighters or Mixed Martial Arts fighters.
SBN coverage of UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II
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