Meltzer eventually clears up the June 18 test later in his article, but I realized just how confusing the chronology of the story is, and that's from someone who has been following with great interest. So, I put together this timeline to clear things up:
August 2010: Marquardt experiences sluggishness, short-term memory loss, mood swings, etc. He visits a doctor who runs blood work, which comes back for low testosterone. His doctor recommends testosterone replacement therapy. Marquardt consults with the UFC before beginning treatment.
September 15, 2010: Marquardt stops Rousimar Palhares in Austin, Texas. Palhares complains that Marquardt greased, but Herb Dean settles the matter with his infamous "paper towel" test. The Texas commission claims Marquardt "met all medical requirements."
November 13, 2010: Yushin Okami defeats Marquardt by decision in Oberhausen, Germany. The UFC, specifically Marc Ratner, acts as the commission for this event. Marquardt claims the UFC was made aware of his TRT treatment.
February 11, 2011: Marquardt applies for a therapeutic use exemption with the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board. Marquardt receives a letter back from New Jersey stating that, while the information his doctor submitted was incomplete and the treatment did not follow USADA guidelines, they would grant him a conditional exemption so long as he agreed to halt treatment for eight weeks following his fight with Dan Miller and submit to three consecutive blood tests.
March 19, 2011: Marquardt defeats Dan Miller by unanimous decision in Newark, New Jersey.
March-May, 2011: Marquardt goes off treatment for eight weeks. New Jersey administers three blood tests, all of which come back within an acceptable range for a TUE.
Early June, 2011: Marquardt's doctor recommends restarting treatment more aggressively. Marquardt had been using pills to kickstart his pituitary glands, but his doctor insists on injecting him with testosterone because of the close proximity to his fight.
June 18, 2011: New Jersey requests another blood test from Marquardt. New Jersey protocol requires two tests before and after approval for a fight. This test fails for being, quoting Meltzer, "more than double normal males of his age group, which would have been due to his just receiving a testosterone shot." New Jersey denies Marquardt's TUE application, and sends that information to Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania tells Marquardt to get under the limit, or they will not license him to fight.
June 19, 2011: Marquardt begins testing himself every day. His levels fall throughout the week, but still remain above the acceptable limit.
June 23, 2011: Dana White becomes aware that there's an issue.
June 25, 2011, 1:00 p.m. ET: Marquardt takes a final blood test which comes over the acceptable limit, though he claims he just missed the threshold. Pennsylvania refuses to allow him to fight and places him on indefinite suspension.
June 25, 2011, 3:30 p.m. ET: MMA Junkie announces Marquardt has been scratched from the show, Charlie Brenneman will fight Rick Story, and Cheick Kongo and Pat Barry move into the main event.
June 25, 2011, 4:57 p.m. ET: Dana White tweets about Marquardt's removal from the show and his cuts him from the UFC.
June 26, 2011, 12:08 p.m. ET: Nate Marquardt tweets an apology to his fans.
June 26, 2011, 4:44 p.m. ET: Greg Sirb, executive director of the Pennsylvania commission, addresses the media.
June 26, 2011, 8:00 p.m. ET: Marquardt releases a terse statement to the Versus pre-show.
June 26, 2011, 8:32 p.m. ET: Marquardt tweets that he will address "all issues" on Tuesday.
June 26, 2011, 10:45 p.m. ET: Charlie Brenneman defeats Rick Story by unanimous decision.
June 26, 2011, 11:00 p.m. ET: Dana White appears on the UFC on Versus post-fight show. White says he is "pretty disgusted Nate Marquardt," adding that Marquardt will never fight for the UFC again.
June 28, 2011: Marquardt appears on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani.
