Marquardt Suspension Hearing Postponed by PSAC

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Nate Marquardt’s fate is still undecided.

The Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission was scheduled to meet last week to deliberate on Marquardt’s recent suspension due to elevated levels of testosterone, but that meeting was postponed. Sherdog.com confirmed Thursday with PSAC Executive Director Greg Sirb that the commission will meet next week to discuss the fighter’s suspension, with a decision likely to be rendered Wednesday, July 13.

Marquardt was suspended by the PSAC in June after a prefight test revealed his testosterone levels to be too high for competition. As the fighter explained last week in an interview with MMAFighting.com, Marquardt began testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) in summer 2010 after experiencing mood swings and other symptoms. Marquardt was placed on TRT by his primary care physician before applying for a therapeutic use exemption in New Jersey prior to his fight with Dan Miller at UFC 128 in March.

Although Marquardt was allowed to compete against Miller, the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board wanted further evidence from a certified endocrinologist that Marquardt needed the treatment. In compliance with the NJSACB’s request, the fighter then went off TRT for eight weeks prior to his scheduled June 26 bout with Rick Story at UFC Live 4 in Pittsburgh. At the conclusion of that eight-week period, Marquardt stated that he resumed more aggressive TRT treatment on the advice of his primary doctor in an attempt to return his testosterone to normal levels.

When the NJSACB contacted Pennsylvania officials to express their concern over Marquardt’s situation, the fighter was administered tests by the PSAC to evaluate his testosterone level. After Marquardt tested high on the day before his bout with Story, he was removed from the contest, suspended by the PSAC, and subsequently released by the UFC.