UFC fighters react to new ban on testosterone therapy
The Nevada State Athletic Commission voted unanimously to ban the use of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) on Thursday, and the impact of the decision has been immediate. UFC president Dana White called it "a great day for the sport," and implemented a similar ban for all UFC overseas events, where the promotion acts as its own regulatory body.
Vitor Belfort, who has received therapy use exemptions (TUEs) in his past three fights in Brazil, was removed from UFC 173, where he was set to challenge UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman in the main event. While Belfort said he would cease getting TRT, the short time before his May 24 fight forced him to pull out, with Lyoto Machida now getting a title shot.
Michael Bisping, who has losses to Belfort, Dan Henderson and Chael Sonnen — all previous TRT users — told MMAjunkie that he's glad the hormone treatment is finding its way out of the sport.
“Vitor’s a cheat, simple as that. He’ll go out and try to find another way to cheat. He’ll find another way of manipulating the system, or he’ll try.
“It’s nice to know they’re being branded the cheats they have always been. They’ve been chemically enhancing their bodies for quite some time, and I always took a hard stance against it. Fortunately, the UFC and the Nevada athletic commission are branding it for what it is; it’s an unfair advantage and whole thing is just a mockery to the whole concept of sport and fair competition.
“In the past, I’ve lost to three guys on TRT. They had an unfair advantage, and I’m just glad nobody is going to have to suffer a defeat at the hands of somebody on TRT.”
Chael Sonnen, who has received TUEs in Nevada, told FOX Sports that fighters simply need to accept the ban and move forward.
“The rules are the rules — that’s it,” Sonnen said. “Yesterday, it was legal, so quit complaining. Today, it’s illegal. That’s it. Quit complaining. End of conversation. Testosterone’s out.”
Many took to Twitter to react.
Nevada just banned the use of synthetic testosterone for fighters. Shit just got real. Literally.
— Joe Rogan (@joerogan) February 27, 2014
Very happy to see TRT banned, absolutely a ridiculous idea to start with and a major factor of my personal retirement from fighting
— Brian Stann (@BrianStann) February 27, 2014
Has there been a memo passed around that says we're supposed to pretend Dana and the UFC didn't seem pretty gung ho about TRT circa 2012?
— Jonathan Snowden (@mmaencyclopedia) February 28, 2014
Respect to @danawhite for supporting Nevada TRT ban & stating UFC would also ban TRT in ALL international fights they self-regulate
— Dr. Johnny Benjamin (@DrJCBenjamin) February 28, 2014
On Friday, Dr. Márcio Tannure, medical director of the Comissão Atlética Brasileira de MMA, said that Brazil would be following Nevada's lead and discontinue giving out TUEs. This however, will not affect Dan Henderson in his rematch against Shogun Rua on March 23, as Henderson had already been granted an exemption prior to the commission's decision.