Former UFC two-division champion Randy Couture is back in MMA news, this time with more eyebrow raising comments regarding his former bosses and their promotion.
Couture, 50, recently spoke to Submission Radio about the Nevada State Athletic Commission's decision to ban testosterone replacement therapy, and claimed that the UFC's support of this ban was to ensure no implications against the promotion.
"In a small way it implicated the UFC when they highlighted Vitor Belfort who had a TRT exemption and he said he never heard of TRT until the UFC doctor turned him onto it and told him what it was all about, was I think one of the reasons why the UFC, they didn't want to be implicated, they didn't want to be party to that so they moved for the commissions to ban the exemptions. "
"The Natural" also explained that he doubts the ban on TRT will have much impact the use of performance enhancing drugs in MMA.
"Whether the UFC is helping them find doctors to do that appropriately or not doesn't really matter in my opinion. I think they were just trying to cover their butt by pushing the ban on exemptions through. The whole thing, I mean, how many guys have we had come up positive (for PEDs). That, in my opinion, is worse than the TRT. At least they're going through proper protocol and using conditions and doing the right thing."
Couture also gave his thoughts on his son, Ryan Couture, and whether he was given a "fair shake" during his time with the UFC.
"No I don't think he got a fair shake. I don't think that any 7-0 fighter was being handled appropriately or properly in putting him in with a Ross Pearson who has 30 plus mixed martial arts fights. That's not a real fair match up on the experience side of things. Was Ryan capable, technically and tactically of winning that fight? I think he proved that. He went out and won the first round, but Ross is a very, very experienced fighter.
He stuck to his guns, he knew where he needed to be and he found a way to win and I think that was Dana poking at me, trying to get back at me for signing a deal with Spike and again trying to villainies me, not allowing me to corner my son, to be involved with my son when he made the transition to the biggest fight of his life; and I think that showed after the Pearson fight his confidence was in the toilet, and that second kid, he was more than capable of beating, but I think coming off the Pearson fight it was tough fight for him. It didn't go well, and again, I wasn't allowed to be there to do the things that I've been doing for him in every other fight that he had up to that point and that all falls on Dana's shoulders."
Transcription by Lowkickmma.com & MMAmania.com