Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney: 'I've never flip-flopped' on anti-TRT stance

Bellator MMA Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney’s stance on testosterone-replacement therapy is the same now as it was even before the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s recent ban, he said.

“I’ve had the same opinion and stance on it since the first time I was asked the question,” Rebney said Friday after the organization’s Season 10 debut on Spike TV. “I just never felt the controls were tight enough to be able to allow it to occur. When guys misuse it, it’s an unfair advantage. If you’re going to try to equalize the playing field, the best way is to just eliminate it in totality.

“I’ve never wavered on it and gone back over. I’ve never flip-flopped on that issue.”

That last line may have been a shot at UFC President Dana White. Following this past Thursday’s NSAC meeting and ban of therapeutic-use exemptions for TRT, which prompted a similar ban from Brazil’s MMA commission and the Association of Boxing Commissions’ plans to further study the possibility, the UFC released a statement praising the decision from the influential regulatory body.

“We believe our athletes should compete based on their natural abilities and on an even playing field,” the statement read. “We also intend to honor this ruling in international markets where, due to a lack of governing bodies, the UFC oversees regulatory efforts for our live events. We encourage all athletic commissions to adopt this ruling.”

However, that wasn’t always the stance. As MMAjunkie columnist Ben Fowlkes recently wrote, White’s feelings have wavered in recent months.

Rebney, though, said his stance has always been the same.

“Anyone in this sport recognizes there are people who misuse it,” he said. “So eliminate it, and then you don’t have to worry about misuse. I’m glad Nevada took the steps they took, and my assumption is a lot of the other commission will follow suit because often they do.”

While a handful of notable UFC names have received exemptions to use TRT – most notably Dan Henderson, Vitor Belfort and Chael Sonnen – Rebney said he couldn’t recall any fighters applying for a TUE while under contract with Bellator. (Recent Bellator 110 headliner Quinton Jackson received a TUE while still signed with the UFC in 2012.)

“I don’t know that anybody (from Bellator) has applied, and the way it looks now, I don’t know if it’ll really matter if anyone applies, which I think is fair,” Rebney said, referring to the NSAC’s ban. “That’s the way it should go.”

Rebney commended the NSAC’s decision, which came as a bit of a surprise since TRT was intended to be a mere discussion item at its recent meeting. Instead, the commission voted unanimously to ban it, and other commissions are likely to follow suit.

While Rebney feels for the athletes with legitimate needs, he knows it was too easy for others to legally take the steroid hormone treatment.

“It didn’t surprise me,” he said of the ban. “The lack of one unified approach of how to do it and the lack of uniformity from commission to commission around the country made it so rife for misuse. Somebody had to stand up and say, ‘Wait a minute. Just stop.’

“It’s unfortunate for guys who have a legitimate physical defect, but you’d rather err on the side of doing it right for everybody, and the vast majority are going to be able to fight clean now and not fight against someone who isn’t.”

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