UFC to follow Nevada athletic commission's new ban on TRT

The Nevada State Athletic Commission voted unanimously to ban the use of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), on Thursday.

TRT is a hormone treatment, usually in the form of an injection or cream, used to offset the symptoms of hypogonadism (which in men includes fatigue, erectile dysfunction, declining muscle mass, etc.). However, one of the chief causes of hypogonadism is prior steroid use.

In the past, fighters such as Chael Sonnen, Dan Henderson, Frank Mir and Forest Griffin, have been granted therapy use exemption (TUE) by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Those are now off the table, with the commission no longer recognizing TUEs, including those issued outside of Nevada.

Vitor Belfort, who has received TRT exemptions in the past (he also tested positive for anabolic steroids in 2006), is one of the first fighters affected, as he challenges Chris Weidman for the UFC middleweight title at UFC 173 in Las Vegas.

A recent episode of Outside the Lines highlighted the fact that MMA fighters had a much higher rate of receiving TUEs than athletes in other sports. Of the 1,800+ fighters signed with UFC and Bellator, 11 of them had TUEs.

The International Olympic Committee did not issue a single testosterone exemption for the 2012 London Olympics, which featured 5,892 male athletes.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency issued one testosterone exemption last year among the thousands of elite-level athletes under its jurisdiction.

Major League Baseball has issued six exemptions to athletes over the past six seasons -- an average of 1,200 players populate its rosters each season.

National Football League officials say testosterone exemptions are "very rare" and only a "handful" have been issued since 1990. Nearly 2,000 players circulate through rosters each season.

No pro boxer is known to have had an exemption issued through a state athletic commission, and Nevada officials said they have never even received an application.

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UFC to follow Nevada athletic commission's new ban on TRT