UFC 169: Frank Mir Receives TRT Exemption for Fight with Alistair Overeem

Testosterone-replacement therapy, better known in the public eye as TRT, is as hot a topic in mixed martial arts today as concussions are in football.

It aids aging veterans in search of increased testosterone levels while fading out younger, hardworking athletes in their prime.

The epidemic has sparked massive attention throughout the MMA world and will continue to sink its teeth into the sport's aching ethical body for the foreseeable future.

Now while much of the illegal TRT use has been met head on, many war-torn mainstays of the sport are still being exempted by cautious athletic commissions nationwide.

That's why it didn't come as much of a surprise when former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir revealed to MMA Junkie Wednesday morning that the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board granted him TRT exemption for his upcoming bout at UFC 169 this Saturday opposite Alistair Overeem.

This will serve as the third time that Mir has publicly stated that he'll be given full permission to shift natural testosterone levels in effort to regain physicality.  The other two times came against Josh Barnett at UFC 164 and Junior dos Santos for the heavyweight title at UFC 146.

The fact that Mir's Octagon showdown this weekend is coming against one of the most controversial fighters in the sport when it comes to testosterone usage is irony at its finest.

In any case, TRT or not, Mir needs to win.  Currently riding a three-fight losing streak for the first time ever, the 34-year-old needs to prove he can remain considerably productive in the twilight of his professional career.

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