In the video above, Shogun Rua opens up about a number of topics, from his upcoming UFC Australia fight with James Te Huna to his take on testosterone-replacement therapy. But one of the juiciest nuggets from the clip is Shogun talking about a rematch with Dan Henderson. Rua says the fans want it and so does he.

Props to MMAInterviews.tv for the interview.

Dana White considera Vitor Belfort como o possível próximo desafiante ao cinturão dos pesos médios. Foto: Carol Correia

Depois da vitória incontestável de Vitor Belfort sobre Luke Rockhold no UFC no Combate 2, Dana White afirmou que o brasileiro está próximo de brigar pelo cintutão dos pesos médios novamente, e poderá ser o desafiante ao título. Apesar de não confirmar a informação, o dirigente elogiou a performance do lutador, e falou que como segundo colocado no ranking do Ultimate, nada mais justo do que enfrentar o vencedor de Anderson Silva vs Chris Weidman.

Em encontro com a imprensa em Las Vegas, Dana White ainda defendeu Belfort em relação ao tratamento de reposição hormonal que o atleta faz, e criticou as mídias que especulam a todo tempo sobre o assunto:

“Eu sou contra TRT, mas é algo legal. Ele está dentro das regras. Acredite, o Vitor é um dos caras que mais seguem regras. Entendo que ser massacrado por este assunto é uma bobagem. Vitor irá lutar onde quiser porque faz este tratamento de forma rigorosa e sem trapaças. Aquele chute rodado, aquela vitória, nada tem a ver com TRT. Ele foi submetido a exames e estou confiante que passará limpo por eles”.

(L-R) Gegard Mousasi punches Ilir Latifi in their light heavyweight fight at the Ericsson Globe Arena on April 6, 2013 in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Gegard Mousasi watched last weekend’s UFC on FX 8 card, and was impressed with Vitor Belfort’s knockout of former Strikeforce champ Luke Rockhold.

Mousasi’s reaction to the outcome: Belfort did well. Watching the No. 2-ranked middleweight in the world was likely more homework than entertainment for the light heavyweight, however, as Mousasi now has his eyes set on a drop to 185 pounds.

“I think 185 is more suited for my body frame,” Mousasi told GRACIEMAG.com on Monday. “It’s a big possibility that I will go (down in weight class).”

Mousasi said that he is yet to discuss with the UFC about when he plans to drop to the middleweight division, but explained that he wants to maximize his strengths in the Octagon. The former Strikeforce and DREAM light heavyweight champion said that he’s confident moving to 185 pounds will maximize those strengths.

A few weeks ago, the fighter wrote on Twitter, asking what people thought about a drop to middleweight. The response was positive, Mousasi said. And despite previous reluctancy to cut the weight necessary to make 185, the Dutch-Armenian mixed martial artist said he is now more open to the idea.

“The last couple of fights … I didn’t need a lot of weight cutting. It was much easier to make the weight,” Mousasi said, adding that in his last fight, a match with last-minute replacement Ilir Latifi, he didn’t have to cut much weight at all. “In the past I thought (light heavyweight) was better for me, but I’m more open to middleweight. I have options: Go try out 205, (and) if it doesn’t work out, go to 185.

“I think I would be successful in both divisions, but I give less advantage to my opponent (at middleweight).”

In terms of who Mousasi would like to fight at 185 pounds, he said anyone in the division would be good. His manager, Nima Safapour, recently said that his fighter’s move to middleweight would make the most sense if it came with a fight against one of the best in the division.

“Gegard is very serious about doing it,” Safapour said in an email to GRACIEMAG.com, referencing the drop in weight class. “However, it would only make sense for him if he was offered a top five fighter upon entering the division.”

Vitor Belfort, for example, is right up there with the top of the weight class. A fight with him, Mousasi said, would be a good match-up. Following his win at UFC on FX 8 — as well as in recent months — Belfort has come under fire for undergoing testosterone-replacement therapy (TRT) while competing in the UFC. The procedure has been described as cheating in many circles and numerous personalities within the industry, including UFC President Dana White, have criticized those who have gone the route of TRT.

Mousasi, however, isn’t so critical. The fighter said that skills hold more weight in determining the outcome of a fight than that of artificial testosterone, and he would welcome the opportunity to fight Belfort, regardless of the scrutiny that he’s under.

“I’m not afraid of fighting him,” Mousasi said. “Of course (TRT) gives an advantage … But in the end, a fight is a fight (and) if you’re skilled enough, it shouldn’t matter that a guy is on TRT or not.”

Testosterone aside, Mousasi’s drop to middleweight won’t come for another several months because of a knee injury he sustained leading into his most recent bout. The fighter said he won’t return to training at 100 percent for another three to four months, but when he does come back, a middleweight tilt will likely be his next challenge.

Who Mousasi’s first 185-pound challenge will be, specifically? That won’t be answered today. But as he recovers from injury and watches guys like Belfort win middleweight fights in devastating fashion, Mousasi’s confidence isn’t shaken one bit.

“There’s no one in 185 that I could lose to or I would have a hard fight with,” he said. “I’m capable of beating anybody at 185.”

GRACIEMAG.com was on the scene in Torrance, Calif. for the UFC 157 open workouts, and caught up with MMA veteran Dan Henderson. The fighter took questions from the media and opened up about using TRT, as well as giving his take on testing for it in MMA. Check it out in the player above.

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(L-R) Opponents Vitor Belfort and Michael Bisping face off before in their middleweight fight at the UFC on FX event on January 19, 2013 at Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

UFC middleweight Michael Bisping is a disappointed man.

The fighter released a statement through his website on Friday to address the recent news of UFC on FX 7 opponent Vitor Belfort’s exemption to undergo testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) for their fight from last month in Brazil.

Bisping expressed his frustration with how his opponent is openly allowed the exemption, pointing specifically at the fact that Belfort has prior run-ins that deal with performance enhancers.

“It is very disappointing that someone who was caught cheating with testosterone in the past now gets to use testosterone legally,” Bisping said in the statement. “A well known side effect of steroids is that it reduces testosterone, so I don’t understand how it would make sense to then grant someone an exemption to then increase testosterone.”

Bisping’s loss to Belfort marked the third time he’s been in a middleweight title eliminator, and been unable to capture the win. Notably, all three of those losses have been to fighters who have undergone TRT in the past — Dan Henderson, Chael Sonnen and now Belfort.

The British fighter went on to clarify that he’s not making excuses for the Jan. 19 defeat, and hopes to climb back up the middleweight ladder starting with his next fight.

“I am not here to make excuses or cry over spilled milk,” he said. “I … am very excited to work and earn a title fight the right way.  That process starts by whooping Alan Belcher’s [expletive] at UFC 159.”

Bisping’s next fight will take place on April 27 in Newark, N.J. as part of a Pay-Per-View.

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According to UFC officials, Vitor Belfort is undergoing TRT to treat hypogonadism. Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Vitor Belfort is under testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) to treat hypogonadism, UFC officials said on Wednesday.

Belfort has been on the medically approved TRT regimen under the supervision of a medical doctor from Nevada, according to the company.

Zuffa, the UFC’s parent company, made the statement to clarify any rumors that Belfort tested positive for banned substances following his UFC on FX 7 win over Michael Bisping.

“To dispel rumors that have been circulated, Zuffa wishes to clarify that Vitor Belfort’s drug test results were negative and did not indicate the presence of any performance enhancing drugs,” the company said in a statement.

One fighter, however, tested positive for banned substances at UFC on FX 7. Thiago Tavares had traces of drostanolone, an anabolic steroid, in his system following the Jan. 19 fights and has been suspended nine months from the date of the fight as a result. He will have to produce a negative test after his suspension before returning to competition.

Hypogonadism is a condition where the sex glands produce little or no hormones. In men, these glands (gonads) are the testes, according to PubMed Health.

No comment has been made by Belfort or his camp at this time.

For more UFC and MMA coverage,
visit GRACIEMAG.com’s Choke MMA section