Just when you thought it was over, the saga of Vitor Belfort and his involvement with performance enhancing drugs continues.
On Monday, veteran journalist Josh Gross published a report detailing the UFC's successful (until now) efforts to cover up a Belfort failed drug test in 2012. According to the report, a UFC staff member accidentally sent copies of results from a September 1, 2012 drug screening Belfort took at LabCorp to a group of managers, fighters and media members. It was supposed to go to three UFC executives but instead, it was in the hands of outsiders.
The UFC staffer attempted to "recall" the email message, urging the recipients to delete "ASAP" over the course of two frantic email messages. Later that evening, the UFC's then-general counsel, Lawrence Epstein, sent an email to the recipients threatening legal action if Belfort's results saw the light of day. They remained hidden from public view for three years. But in mixed martial arts circles, the accidental email became a thing of legend.
The UFC's testosterone replacement therapy era appears to be over. But one fighter who has been an outspoken critic of Belfort's over the years is feeling quite validated today. Luke Rockhold, who challenges middleweight champion Chris Weidman on Dec. 12, has long aired his suspicions that Belfort was dirty.
Today, it appears, he has proof and he is not surprised by any of it.
"It’s nothing I didn’t already expect of him. I knew the man was cheating the whole time," Rockhold said. "It was just a matter of how much he was cheating."
Gross' story shows that the UFC allowed Belfort to fight Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title at UFC 152 despite a drug screening that showed Belfort's testosterone levels to be elevated. Belfort lost, but not before nearly ripping Jones' arm out of its socket with an armbar.
Looking back, it's easy to raise suspicions when you see the version of Belfort that walked into the Octagon that night. He'd been fighting at 185 pounds, but was a giant, thickly-muscled light heavyweight on that night.
"I remember specifically when he went into that fight with Jones, and just how huge he was. He looked abnormal at times," Rockhold said. "He can morph from 185 to 205 and look just as big as anybody in that division. No one does that and carries the muscle, transforming from the biggest 185-pounder to the biggest 205-pounder."
A dark cloud has surrounded Belfort ever since he failed a 2006 test for 4-hydroxytesterone. He attempted to explain away that failure by first blaming an over-the-counter supplement and then, as if needing insurance, by saying that a Brazilian doctor may have injected him with the substance when administering injections to help Belfort rehab an injury.
Belfort eventually became the poster child for testosterone replacement therapy, which was banned by the Nevada Athletic Commission in 2014. Despite all the bad press, he remained near the top of his division, earning high-profile fights and title shots. It is difficult for Rockhold to understand how someone with so much controversy was constantly given prime opportunities.
"It’s crazy. I don’t know what it is exactly. Money? I don’t know why he gets away with what he does," he said. "I’ve known he’s getting away with it forever."
These days, Rockhold is mostly tired of talking about Belfort. He has willingly voiced his opinion countless times, and it appears—on the surface, anyway—he has been vindicated. He'd love to have a second crack at this new version of Belfort, the one who isn't getting help from testosterone; the Brazilian violently knocked Rockhold out with a head kick in May 2013.
But right now, he is focused on the biggest opportunity of his own career: his title fight against Weidman. For now, anyway, he's putting Belfort in the rear-view mirror.
"I don’t know what more I can say about it. The guy is a joke," he said. "He’s a disgrace to the sport."
Jeremy Botter covers mixed martial arts for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.
