Count veteran Dan Henderson among those who aren’t all that supportive of the Nevada Athletic Commission’s decision to ban therapeutic use exemptions for testosterone replacement therapy.
“Are they going to ban insulin for diabetics and other prescribed medications that get people into normal ranges?” Henderson said to MMAFighting.com. “Seems like they could have easily implemented random drug testing.”
Random drug testing costs money and one of the reasons cited by the commission prior to their unanimous vote to ban TRT on Thursday was not having enough funds to constantly monitor TRT users.
Henderson confirmed he will be allowed to continue his TRT treatment leading up to his rematch against Shogun Rua next month in Brazil. He said he began using TRT around 2006 or 2007, “but not until I was told by the NSAC that it was fine to take as long as it was backed up with medical records.” Nevada was the first state to grant Henderson a TUE for TRT in 2007, and it is believed that Henderson is the first MMA fighter to be granted one.
“I just think that they took the easy way out,” he said. “Instead of trying to get rid of the bigger problem of PEDs, they banned the drugs they had already approved for athletes with chronically low testosterone levels.
“I would love for them to do better. Random, no advance notice drug testing.”
Henderson stopped using TRT approximately two months prior to his UFC 161 fight against Rashad Evans because the Manitoba Combative Sports Commission did not grant any TUEs. Henderson lost the fight via split decision.
And while he may not be in agreement with the NAC’s ruling, Henderson said he will not walk away from the sport because of it. After all, the 43-year-old recently signed a new six-fight contract with the UFC.
“I’ll deal with the changes after [the Shogun fight],” he said.