Tonight’s blast from the past UFC 204 card has plenty of history-making potential with the main event. It could see current champion, Michael Bisping become the winningest fighter in the company’s history if he defends his title. It could see Dan Henderson finally grab the one belt that’s eluded him for years.
Amid all that nostalgia is another fight that’s positively draped with throwback aura. Vitor Belfort vs. Gegard Mousasi is finally happening, and not a moment too soon. Belfort, while still a danger to anyone at middleweight that might take him for granted, has been showing the wear-and-tear from his long, illustrious career. Mousasi has campaigned for this bout for years, and now, finally has the chance to utilize the aging legend as a stepping stone on his path to title contention.
Recently, the Three Amigos Podcast sat down with Mousasi, who fielded questions about Vitor’s “doctor’s advantage,” and just how much of the Brazilian star’s past success can be attributed to his years-long TRT use.
“Well, a lot. Some things—the kicks, they had nothing to do with TRT, but if you have more testosterone, you’re gonna recover faster, you’re gonna train harder, you’re gonna feel mentally better, you’re gonna be more aggressive, more confident, and all of those things definitely help. You can’t deny that.
Without TRT, his performance hasn’t been that great. Obviously, if you look at the fight statistics and his record, then you can see it helps. How much? You can never know, but it definitely helped, I believe.”
With the recent announcement that 23 celebrities were allowed to purchase a small percentage of the UFC—and at the bargain rate of a $250K buy-in—there is a notion among members of the MMA community that these new investors will bring more attention to the organization, thus making it more profitable. However, Gegard isn’t finding much of an upside where the fighters are concerned.
“Well, I don’t know. The fighters don’t get that much money, anyway. It’s nice for the celebrities, probably—they think they’re gonna make money, but it’s not making any difference for the fighters.”
There was plenty more to this interview, especially topics regarding strategy and technique. You can catch the whole interview HERE at the 19:25 mark of the audio or via the embedded player below.
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