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Marquardt: Firing due to Testosterone Replacement Therapy snafu
Nate Marquardt was fired on Saturday, just 24 hours before his main event at UFC on Versus 4, for failing over a six week period to provide the Pennsylvania SAC with some medically related requirement for him to fight. The nature of the requirement is pretected by federal HIPAA rules, and not definitively known at this point. Nate Marquardt's spokesman reveals why Marquardt has taken to long to respond.
We weighed all the options and presented them to Nate. We felt it was better to wait until he was comfortable. He'd just been fired. He lost a huge pay day. We wanted to respect his wishes and give him time to collect himself. He needed time to talk to his family and to inform his coaches and teammates. He'll tell the whole story today.
At 1 p.m. ET the former middleweight number one contender, accompanied by manager Lex McMahon, broke his silence on the MMA Hour.
Marquardt says he was not medically cleared for his UFC on Versus 4 main event versus Rick Story because of a snafu with his Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT).
In August of 2010he was diagnosed with low testosterone. He began treatment for his fight against Dan Miller in New Jersey. Treatment was under a Therapeutic Use Exemption*.
Nate Marquardt is on the MMA Hour with his manager Lex McMahon. He was not medically cleared to fight at UFC on Versus 4 after failing a pre-fight blood test resulting from his Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT).
Says his MD advised him to undertake a "more aggressive therapy" three weeks out from his fight vs. Rick Story at UFC on Versus 4. Two weeks out from the fight he took a blood test which revealed high levels; on the advice of his MD he stopped the treatment. Never the less, the test he took on the day of the weigh ins was above the limit allowed limit by the Pennsylvania SAC.
Says he "made a mistake" by not requesting a blood test earlier than two weeks before the fight.
Says his blood levels have returned to normal. he and expects to have suspension lifted after a board meeting with the Pennsylvania SAC later this week.
Says he does not know why he suffers from low testosterone levels.
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*Therapeutic Use Exemptions:
Athletes, like all others, may have illnesses or conditions that require them to take particular medications. If the medication an athlete is required to take to treat an illness or condition happens to fall under the Prohibited List, a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) may give that athlete the authorization to take the needed medicine.
Nate Marquardt was fired on Saturday, just 24 hours before his main event at UFC on Versus 4, for failing over a six week period to provide the Pennsylvania SAC with some medically related requirement for him to fight. The nature of the requirement is pretected by federal HIPAA rules, and not definitively known at this point. Nate Marquardt's spokesman reveals why Marquardt has taken to long to respond.
We weighed all the options and presented them to Nate. We felt it was better to wait until he was comfortable. He'd just been fired. He lost a huge pay day. We wanted to respect his wishes and give him time to collect himself. He needed time to talk to his family and to inform his coaches and teammates. He'll tell the whole story today.
At 1 p.m. ET the former middleweight number one contender, accompanied by manager Lex McMahon, broke his silence on the MMA Hour.
Marquardt says he was not medically cleared for his UFC on Versus 4 main event versus Rick Story because of a snafu with his Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT).
In August of 2010he was diagnosed with low testosterone. He began treatment for his fight against Dan Miller in New Jersey. Treatment was under a Therapeutic Use Exemption*.
Nate Marquardt is on the MMA Hour with his manager Lex McMahon. He was not medically cleared to fight at UFC on Versus 4 after failing a pre-fight blood test resulting from his Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT).
Says his MD advised him to undertake a "more aggressive therapy" three weeks out from his fight vs. Rick Story at UFC on Versus 4. Two weeks out from the fight he took a blood test which revealed high levels; on the advice of his MD he stopped the treatment. Never the less, the test he took on the day of the weigh ins was above the limit allowed limit by the Pennsylvania SAC.
Says he "made a mistake" by not requesting a blood test earlier than two weeks before the fight.
Says his blood levels have returned to normal. he and expects to have suspension lifted after a board meeting with the Pennsylvania SAC later this week.
Says he does not know why he suffers from low testosterone levels.
--
*Therapeutic Use Exemptions:
Athletes, like all others, may have illnesses or conditions that require them to take particular medications. If the medication an athlete is required to take to treat an illness or condition happens to fall under the Prohibited List, a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) may give that athlete the authorization to take the needed medicine.
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