The Nevada State Athletic Commission struck a blow for fair, healthy MMA competition today, voting for an immediate ban on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). Therapeutic usage exemptions (TUE) will no longer be granted to fighters, even for those who had been approved to use hormone therapy in the past. Furthermore, the NSAC will push other states to ban TRT as well, and won’t honor the TUEs approved by other state commissions.
And so, MMA’s biggest PED loophole has been closed by the country’s most influential athletic commission — and other state athletic commissions may be forced to follow suit. Vitor Belfort will have to fight clean in Nevada, along with everybody else who previously had doctor’s notes for testosterone.
It’s a good day for the sport. We’ll update you with any major developments that follow.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission struck a blow for fair, healthy MMA competition today, voting for an immediate ban on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). Therapeutic usage exemptions (TUE) will no longer be granted to fighters, even for those who had been approved to use hormone therapy in the past. Furthermore, the NSAC will push other states to ban TRT as well, and won’t honor the TUEs approved by other state commissions.
And so, MMA’s biggest PED loophole has been closed by the country’s most influential athletic commission — and other state athletic commissions may be forced to follow suit. Vitor Belfort will have to fight clean in Nevada, along with everybody else who previously had doctor’s notes for testosterone.
It’s a good day for the sport. We’ll update you with any major developments that follow.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission struck a blow for fair, healthy MMA competition today, voting for an immediate ban on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). Therapeutic usage exemptions (TUE) will no longer be granted to fighters, even for those who had been approved to use hormone therapy in the past. Furthermore, the NSAC will push other states to ban TRT as well, and won’t honor the TUEs approved by other state commissions.
And so, MMA’s biggest PED loophole has been closed by the country’s most influential athletic commission — and other state athletic commissions may be forced to follow suit. Vitor Belfort will have to fight clean in Nevada, along with everybody else who previously had doctor’s notes for testosterone.
It’s a good day for the sport. We’ll update you with any major developments that follow.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission struck a blow for fair, healthy MMA competition today, voting for an immediate ban on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). Therapeutic usage exemptions (TUE) will no longer be granted to fighters, even for those who had been approved to use hormone therapy in the past. Furthermore, the NSAC will push other states to ban TRT as well, and won’t honor the TUEs approved by other state commissions.
And so, MMA’s biggest PED loophole has been closed by the country’s most influential athletic commission — and other state athletic commissions may be forced to follow suit. Vitor Belfort will have to fight clean in Nevada, along with everybody else who previously had doctor’s notes for testosterone.
It’s a good day for the sport. We’ll update you with any major developments that follow.
Which leads into today’s news that Belfort will indeed be applying for a therapeutic usage exemption for TRT in Nevada when his title fight against Weidman is officially booked. Ariel Helwani passed along the news on last night’s installment of UFC Tonight:
“He said he’s on TRT and that his doctors said he has to be on it. This has been prescribed and he’s planning on applying to be on a TUE for the next fight.”
Well, bullshit. For the sake of argument, let’s take Belfort at his word — he needs to load up on testosterone in order to function normally. Is that a valid reason for any athletic commission to grant him an exemption? You’re gonna let a guy use steroids because he’s too sick to compete without them? Honestly, that sounds like the worst reason to give a professional fighter a TUE. But hey, we all know that in Brazil, doctors are essentially Gods and their advice must be followed at all costs, no matter how ridiculous.
Which leads into today’s news that Belfort will indeed be applying for a therapeutic usage exemption for TRT in Nevada when his title fight against Weidman is officially booked. Ariel Helwani passed along the news on last night’s installment of UFC Tonight:
“He said he’s on TRT and that his doctors said he has to be on it. This has been prescribed and he’s planning on applying to be on a TUE for the next fight.”
Well, bullshit. For the sake of argument, let’s take Belfort at his word — he needs to load up on testosterone in order to function normally. Is that a valid reason for any athletic commission to grant him an exemption? You’re gonna let a guy use steroids because he’s too sick to compete without them? Honestly, that sounds like the worst reason to give a professional fighter a TUE. But hey, we all know that in Brazil, doctors are essentially Gods and their advice must be followed at all costs, no matter how ridiculous.
For Belfort, testosterone therapy may be a performance-enabler rather than a performance-enhancer, but that doesn’t make his usage any more legitimate. I’m reminded of Karo Parisyan’s dependency on painkillers during the late part of his UFC run, which earned him a suspension and a fine following his appearance at UFC 94 in 2009. In Parisyan’s case, the drugs didn’t give him superhuman strength, but he’d be a physical and emotional wreck if he had to fight without them. That’s why painkillers generally fall under MMA’s unapproved substances list; theoretically, the UFC only wants healthy fighters competing.
In other words, “this treatment isn’t a performance enhancer, it just allows me to compete” shouldn’t hold water as a medical justification. Belfort allegedly suffers from an illness that would prevent him from being competitive with the UFC’s elite middleweights without the help of TRT. Really, he’s a very sick man. That’s the story he’s sticking to, anyway. And this is the guy who’s getting the next middleweight title shot in the UFC.
LAS VEGAS — The Nevada Athletic Commission will seek to hire a permanent replacement to fill the role of executive director of the commission within the next two to three months. Commissioners Pat Lundvall and Bill Brady—in addition to commission chairman Francisco Aguilar and commisioners T.J. Day and Skip Avansino, who dialed in via conference […]
LAS VEGAS — The Nevada Athletic Commission will seek to hire a permanent replacement to fill the role of executive director of the commission within the next two to three months. Commissioners Pat Lundvall and Bill Brady—in addition to commission chairman Francisco Aguilar and commisioners T.J. Day and Skip Avansino, who dialed in via conference […]
LAS VEGAS–Keith Kizer, who has served as the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission from the time of his appointment in 2006, has resigned his position and is moving into a role with the Nevada Attorney General’s office. The news was announced via an email received by Bleacher Report on Friday evening. Kizer […]
LAS VEGAS–Keith Kizer, who has served as the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission from the time of his appointment in 2006, has resigned his position and is moving into a role with the Nevada Attorney General’s office. The news was announced via an email received by Bleacher Report on Friday evening. Kizer […]
Chances are that the Nevada State Athletic Commission was planning its upcoming regulatory “workshop” long before UFC 167. Still, when the NSAC announced this week it will hold an event on Dec. 2 to “solicit comments from interested persons” on any “proposed regulation” regarding combat sports, the timing seemed…awkward. It had been less than 48 […]
Chances are that the Nevada State Athletic Commission was planning its upcoming regulatory “workshop” long before UFC 167. Still, when the NSAC announced this week it will hold an event on Dec. 2 to “solicit comments from interested persons” on any “proposed regulation” regarding combat sports, the timing seemed…awkward. It had been less than 48 […]
