LAS VEGAS—UFC President Dana White would like nothing more than to see testosterone replacement therapy go the way of the dodo.
But White told media during a Thursday luncheon that despite his personal feelings it will not go away until the Nevada State Athletic Commission gets rid of their exemption policy. This includes events in foreign countries that don’t have an athletic commission, where the UFC polices and handles their own drug testing.
“We follow the same rules that Nevada does. We follow the same rules across the board. I hate TRT. I don’t want it. All it does it cause problems and questions and all of this stupidity. And if you have to take it, you should probably retire,” White said.
When asked why White doesn’t make a special exception to Zuffa rules that would prevent the usage of TRT, White said it’s a complicated situation.
“How can I do that? Let’s be honest here. Let’s really look at this thing. We’re doing a fight in England,” White said. “If I say nobody can use testosterone because it’s in England? But then we come to Vegas and these other places and they can use it? Then you have guys going ‘I don’t want to fight in England. I want to fight in Vegas, or I want to fight over here.’
“When the commissions do away with it, we’ll do away with it.”
One of the biggest hot-button topics surrounding TRT has been its usage by Vitor Belfort, who has a previous drug test failure in Nevada for performance-enhancing drugs. Belfort has experienced a profound career resurgence and will challenge Chris Weidman for the middleweight championship in May.
Belfort will apply for a TRT exemption in Nevada. The Nevada commission announced earlier this week that they’ll be holding a special meeting on February 27 to discuss their TRT policy so they can be prepared when Belfort applies. Former NSAC chairman Keith Kizer has repeatedly said in the past that former steroid offenders would not be granted an exemption, and so Belfort‘s application will force the commission into uncharted waters.
But what happens if Belfort is not granted the exemption? What happens if he pulls out of the fight after being denied? White went straight to the point.
“That would be a problem. If he turned it down because he doesn’t get the exemption, that would be a problem. That fight is going to happen in Vegas,” White said. “The government is going to come in and tell Vitor what he can and cannot do. And he’s going to fight in Vegas and he’s going to fight Chris Weidman. Period. End of story. And he better do it.”
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