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Mixed Martial Arts--- Vitor Belfort Responds to Steroid Charges
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Pride and UFC veteran Vitor Belfort has responded to the Nevada State Athletic Commission's charges that he had anabolic steroids in his system when he fought on Pride's October 21st card in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Belfort, who lost by unanimous decision to Dan Henderson on the card, tested positive for 4-hydroxytestosterone, which is legally defined as an anabolic steroid and is also banned in Major League Baseball and other sports.

Belfort's case is still pending in front of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, and at some point there will be a disciplinary hearing at which Belfort could be fined or suspended.

Here is a transcript of the letter that Belfort sent to the NSAC:

"In regard of the disciplinary complaint against myself about having violated section 467.850 of the Commission Regulations, all I have to say is that I bought a supplement called 'Max Tribostak' at Max Muscle in La Habra, California, which contains 4-Hydroxytestosterone. I had no idea that a supplement bought over the counter at a vitamin store would contain a substance that is illegal in the state of Nevada. This lack of knowledge is costing me a great deal, hurting my image throughout every newspaper in Brazil, which caused me to lose some of my sponsors, and most of all the risk of being suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. I hope you consider my letter before taking any formal disciplinary actions.

Sincerely,
Vitor Belfort"

The product in question ("Max Tribustak," which Belfort misspelled in his latter) is listed on Max Muscle's web site as "male hormone support" and an "anabolic optimizer" that will help maximize the user's testosterone output. As Belfort acknowledges in his letter, it contains 4-hydroxytestosterone, the substance that caused Belfort to fail his drug test.

Belfort was one of ten fighters who were drug tested at the Pride event on October 21st, and he is one of three fighters on the card who failed to pass their drug tests. The other two are Kevin Randleman and Pawel Nastula.

Randleman has been charged by the Nevada State Athletic Commission with providing fake urine for his drug test, while Nastula tested positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone and the banned stimulants phenylpropanolamine, pseudoephedrine, and ephedrine.

The seven Pride fighters who were drug tested on October 21st and passed their tests are Fedor Emelianenko, Mark Coleman, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Josh Barnett, Dan Henderson, Phil Baroni, and Yosuke Nishijima. The other six fighters on the card were not drug tested.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Pride Fighting Championships News

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:27 AM

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