Dr. Johnny Benjamin: Brazil doctor’s role with UFC is clear conflict of interest

A doctor and longtime MMA observer has pointed criticism for a Brazilian doctor and the UFC in the wake of Antonio Silva‘s failed drug test at UFC Fight Night 33.

Frequent MMAjunkie contributor Johnny Benjamin said Dr. Marcio Tannure should have never accepted money from the promotion to advise Silva, nor should the promotion have enlisted Tannure.

“When you start taking money from the other side, you’re in harm’s way,” Benjamin told MMAjunkie. “That’s tantamount to me being a patient’s physician in a worker’s comp claim. Patient gets injured on the job, and I’m his treating physician, but I’m also paid by his employer.”

Tannure was brought into the spotlight this week when Silva said the doctor played a role in a testosterone-replacement therapy regimen approved by the UFC in advance of the Dec. 7 event.

As earlier reported, Silva, who fought Mark Hunt to a bloody draw in the headliner, was flagged by the promotion for elevated levels of testosterone. He was issued a nine-month suspension, fined $50,000, and the draw was changed to a no-contest.

Silva said Tannure advised him to increase the amount of testosterone he was taking to counteract low hormone levels caused by acromegaly, also known as gigantism. He has threatened to sue the doctor for giving him bad advice.

In an interview with MMAjunkie, Tannure countered that he wasn’t Silva’s doctor and merely conferred with the fighter’s primary care physician before passing along a recommendation to increase his testosterone dosage. But according to Benjamin, Tannure erred by even relaying a message.

Benjamin said such a move disregards medical ethics that are designed to protect patients from individuals and entities who might not have their best interests in mind.

“Not only did he relay information, he also provided advice,” Benjanmin said. “The first thing you have to do as a physician is recuse yourself. It’s almost like being a judge in a trial. You have to say, ‘I can’t be involved in this. You know who I am, right?’

“You can’t say, ‘I’m going to be the person that looks over the care that these fighters receive, and then be the guy’s doctor. You can’t even be a consultant to the guy’s doctor.”

Acting as the de-facto athletic commission for UFC Fight Night 33, the UFC hired Tannure to act as a liaison between promotion executives Marc Ratner and Mike Mersch, UFC medical consultant Dr. Jeff Davidson, and Silva’s personal doctor in Rio de Janeiro.

The promotion said Tannure’s knowledge of medicine and MMA, as well as his fluency in both English and Portuguese, was the reason they chose him to monitor Silva’s testosterone usage.

“Is (Tannure) the the only bilingual person in Brazil?” Benjamin said. “You have to find the medical director of the commission that’s regulating you to be your translator?”

An email requesting comment from the UFC wasn’t immediately returned. Silva, as well, hasn’t spoken to the media since his initial response to the positive test.

Despite the snafu between the promotion, Silva and the Brazilian doctor, Benjamin said little will change without the direction of UFC President Dana White, whom he credits with the direction of the industry-leader.

But the solution, he said, is simple: Keep regulators independent from promoters.

“A person could say it’s a conflict of interest because they wanted to have control over the process,” Benjamin said. “They wanted undue control over the process, so therefore, they put the medical director of the regulatory body on their payroll.

“Something of this nature in the United States, you could lose your medical license for.”

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 33, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

(Pictured: Dr. Johnny Benjamin)