Following up on today’s surprising decision by the Nevada State Athletic Commission to ban testosterone replacement therapy outright, ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reached out to UFC president Dana White for comment. White was enthusiastic:
Dana White via text: It’s a great day in the sport! I applaud NSAC. TRT needed to go away.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) February 27, 2014
Dana White on effect of today’s news on UFC self regulation: we follow Nevada.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) February 27, 2014
Assuming White’s statements become UFC policy, it will become vastly more difficult for fighters using TRT to work around Nevada’s ban. This means that TRT will not be allowed in the locales where the UFC conducts its own testing, including (but not limited to) the UK, Japan, China, and Abu Dhabi. It’s important to note that White’s statements don’t apply to Brazil, which recently acquired its own athletic commission, so Dan Henderson’s usage of TRT for the rematch with Mauricio Rua will presumably not be in question, nor will Chael Sonnen’s for his upcoming bout with Wanderlei Silva, which is also to be held under the jurisdiction of CABMMA. However, there’s nothing stopping the Brazilian commission from following Nevada’s lead on its own.
Stay tuned: Bloody Elbow will have much, much more on the fallout from Nevada’s ban in the coming hours and days.
UPDATE: The UFC has released an official statement on the NSAC’s action:
“The Ultimate Fighting Championship fully supports the decision made today by the Nevada State Athletic Commission regarding the immediate termination of therapeutic use exemptions (TUE) for testosterone replacement therapy (TRT),” the statement read. “We believe our athletes should compete based on their natural abilities and on an even playing field. We also intend to honor this ruling in international markets where, due to a lack of governing bodies, the UFC oversees regulatory efforts for our live events. We encourage all athletic commissions to adopt this ruling.”
Luke Thomas from MMA Fighting discussed the big ESPN “Outside the Lines” story regarding TRT use in MMS on his Chat Wrap show earlier this week:
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