Former UFC Middleweight champion Rich Franklin has given some thought to using testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) according to an interview with MMA Fighting. Franklin, who will turn 38 in October, faces Wanderlei Silva in the headliner of this month's UFC 147 in Brazil.

Franklin spoke to Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour (video after the jump) and admitted he has investigated the possibility of going on TRT as a means of remaining competitive as he ages.

Here's what Ace had to say:

"Yeah, I've kicked around that idea and everything, and actually I've talked to doctors that work with the UFC and the athletic commission in Nevada and all that kind of stuff. And at 37, my count obviously is not what it was when I was 25, and I'm a candidate for that kind of stuff. I haven't started yet.

"I'm not sure if that's something I want to do or how I want to approach that, because TRT is ... once you start that process it's a permanent fixture," he continued. "Once you start putting those hormones in your body -- those synthetic hormones -- then your body is not going to produce its own hormones any more, and so you really have to think carefully. My levels are still decently healthy for a male, but they're not high enough to continue a prolonged career at a top level for many more years."

Apparently Franklin's fellow mixed martial artists Shane Roller and Nate Marquardt did not find TRT to be such a lifetime commitment as they cycled off the stuff after using it briefly because they found dealing with the paperwork and testing requirements of the athletic commissions to be too much of a hassle.

See the full interview after the jump...

SBN coverage of UFC 147

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