Last week, the Nevada Athletic Commission passed a unanimous vote to ban exemptions for the controversial treatment of testosterone replacement therapy. The UFC quickly followed suit alongwith the Brazilian commission CABMMA. While much of the following discussion revolved around the impact the decision had on UFC middleweight Vitor Belfort and his now lost title shot against Chris Weidman, the ban impacts other fighters who have been competing with an exemption as well.
On Wednesday’s episode of UFC Tonight, Chael Sonnen took time to speak up about the issue as well:
“There’s a lot of moving parts. I don’t have all the answers,” Sonnen said. “The bottom line is testosterone is out. Now, as it relates to Vitor, I think this was a very genuine and sincere thing for him. Here’s the problem that I have: a fighter that said seven days ago, ‘I need TRT or I can’t do this,’ and then all of a sudden goes, ‘Well, I’ll just stop TRT.’ I find that very disingenuous.
“I am potentially in that same field. If this retires guys, then it retires guys. The rules are the rules, and the rules need to be followed. Personally, sorry to be long winded about this, but I’m going through this myself, where I’ve had to stop testosterone with the hope that we can find a new way to gain the results of upping testosterone to stay at a healthy level. If it doesn’t work, I may have to stop the sport. And it’s as simple as that.”
Chael is currently scheduled to face off against Wanderlei Silva in a light heavyweight fight as the main event of UFC Fight Night Brazil on May 31. The CABMMA has already announced that Dan Henderson’s exemption for his upcoming bout will be the last granted by the commission. Will Chael be able to compete in May without his treatment?