Vitor Belfort is without a doubt a multi-dimensional UFC personality. Only Vitor can thank God for his strength and ask a rabid Brazilian fan base to beat up a reporter that dares ask him about TRT in one press conference.
[adinserter block=”1″]Former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort may be in the middle of one of the greatest comebacks in UFC history but we all know about the pink elephant in the room, TRT. Belfort is not only blind to the elephant but is willing to assault anyone that has the gall to ask him about it. Threatening physical harm on a reporter for asking the question probably isn’t the smartest way to quell criticism over his TRT exemption.
I have to admit that I have mixed feelings when it comes to Belfort’s TRT. I agree with many that the whole thing just seems kind of dirty. A guy who has a better physique and appears to be in the prime of his fighter career at 36 on TRT seems oh I don’t know…kind of odd to me. On the other hand I want to give the guy credit for putting together one of the most impressive win streaks in recent years inside of the UFC.
I also do find the scrutiny here a bit interesting. A week after a report comes out exposing UFC contracts you have all of these media members with a TRT agenda, yet I don’t recall any of these people pressing the UFC this hard on contracts. I also don’t recall these same media members pressing Chael Sonnen or Dan Henderson this hard on TRT in recent fights.
Reacting to questions about your TRT exemption with threats and blowing off questions makes me wonder even more why Vitor is so scared to talk about it. What’s he hiding? Is he afraid of not answering a question properly? I don’t get it.
Beyond all of that the height of arrogance of any UFC fighter came at the UFC on FX8 presser when Vitor asked to have a reporter beaten up for asking the question. Whether he was joking or not (and watching the presser, he doesn’t appear to be smiling), it is an incredibly irresponsible thing to do, especially in a country with such a fanatical fan following. The UFC needs to act immediately and take action.
Quite frankly if I were the UFC I’d be embarrassed today. Belfort’s high profile win has brought the TRT debate to a level I haven’t seen in awhile. Fans and media in other sports are laughing at the UFC today coming out of this controversy. To cap it all off with their star fighter threatening a reporter for asking is something that makes the UFC look every bit as amateur and barbaric as their critics think they are.
[adinserter block=”2″]I haven’t seen any kind of response yet from the UFC. If I were them I would have immediately gotten in front of this and not only forced Vitor to apologize, but force Vitor to sit with that reporter and answer any questions asked about TRT. That hasn’t happened as of yet and until it does, this whole thing becomes a bigger circus by the day.
Check it out for yourself at the 18:30 mark of the presser. Am I overreacting? Maybe, but Dana White loves to compare his sport to the four majors. I couldn’t imagine anything remotely close to this happening in the NFL, MLB, NBA, or NHL.
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