Brian Stann, Tim Kennedy, Travis Browne speak out on NSAC's TRT ban

A trio of current and former UFC fighters opposed to the use of testosterone-replacement therapy in MMA voiced their support for the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s banning of exemptions for TRT users.

“I knew the day would come at some point that we would wake up and realize how ridiculous it is (to grant TUEs for TRT),” former UFC middleweight and FOX MMA analyst Brian Stann said.

In a landmark decision, the NSAC today voted unanimously to ban testosterone exemptions after expressing concerns about the health and safety of fighters with permission to use the hormone and the resources needed to properly monitor the process.

Stann said he didn’t expect the ruling to come when it did, but said it was another step toward legitimizing MMA.

“We depend on multiple organizations to support the sport, from the UFC to Bellator to World Series of Fighting, to athletic commissions, to the press,” he told MMAjunkie. “We’re all part of bringing the sport further, and this is a huge step.

“When you’ve got major media outlets comparing us to major sports and we’re smaller, and we’ve got something like this staining us, it’s huge that they got it taken care of before something happened, like what happened in Major League Baseball.”

UFC middleweight Tim Kennedy applauded the NSAC’s move and said he expected the California State Athletic Commission to follow suit in banning TUEs for TRT (currently, the commission follows the standard set forth by the World Anti-Doping Agency).

Kennedy also called the ban “kind of meaningless” unless it was supported by the UFC, which frequently regulates drug testing for overseas events. But he spoke to MMAjunkie before the promotion issued a statement backing the ban, which he said would make him “jump for joy and kiss (UFC President) Dana White’s beautiful bald head and do a muscle-off with (UFC CEO) Lorenzo (Fertitta).”

The fighter was less charitable toward current and public users of TRT, which include Vitor Belfort, whom he’s previously criticized for TRT use and a past steroid failure.

“I don’t care,” Kennedy said. “I hope they leave. I’ve always said if you failed a steroid test, I thought it was ridiculous that you could get a TRT exemption, let alone continue to fight in the sport. In cycling, if you fail a steroid test, you can have a lifetime ban from the sport. This is a step in the right direction, but athletes that have tested positive for anabolic steroids, they need to go away and stop dirtying our sport.”

Asked whether he believes Belfort should be forced to retire, Kennedy said, “If he can’t fight clean, then yes.”

Kennedy cited UFC heavyweight Travis Browne as an example of a fighter with the right mindset about the ethics behind using testosterone. Browne recently admitted to having low levels of the hormone, but said he chose not to undergo TRT therapy because he felt it would be cheating.

In an interview following the NSAC’s TRT ban, Browne said that fighters are held to a higher standard than the public when it comes to what they put in their bodies. He said testosterone levels are as much a part of biology as a fighter’s reach and height, and that manipulating them makes a fight unfair.

“We’re all physically build different, and that’s part of our bodies (with) our testosterone levels,” he said. “I want an 84-inch reach. But at the end of the day, I can’t get it. Just because something is available to you in a synthetic form doesn’t mean that it’s OK to take it. If you want the fight to be completely fair, it’s not about raising the testosterone levels to what you think is fair. Your body produces a certain level. Your levels are at those levels for a reason.

“The way that it was argued (with the NSAC) was a health issue. For me, I’m not about someone not being healthy. But when it comes to competition, I don’t feel like you should be able to use (TRT). There are guys that party, smoke weed, and do whatever else they want to do. But on fight night, you’re not allowed to do that stuff. You need to be you on fight night.

“If you’re going through your life and you have low testosterone and you’re having problems with your health or your marriage, that’s fine. Do it in your normal life. But not in the cage. Not in the octagon.”

(Pictured: Tim Kennedy)