Chael Sonnen on NSAC's new TRT stance: 'The rules are the rules. End of conversation.'

Vitor Belfort isn’t the only well-known user of testosterone-replacement therapy in the UFC’s ranks.

Chael Sonnen is one of several fighters to have been granted a therapeutic-use exemption for TRT in Nevada, and who has fought there with a TUE. On Thursday, the Nevada State Athletic Commission voted unanimously to ban TRT use in the state.

That late Thursday led to Belfort electing to pull out of his title fight at UFC 173 this May in Las Vegas against Chris Weidman. Instead, Lyoto Machida gets a title shot.

This past November, Sonnen fought in Las Vegas at UFC 167 and lost to Rashad Evans. He is next scheduled to meet Wanderlei Silva in May at an event in Brazil that has yet to be fully announced with a name or location. The two originally were scheduled to fight at UFC 173 in the co-main event before being moved to Brazil earlier this month.

On Thursday, Sonnen, a UFC analyst for FOX Sports when he’s not fighting, told “FOX Sports Live” that when it comes to his own TRT use, he’ll merely abide by the rules.

“The rules are the rules – that’s it,” Sonnen said. “Yesterday, it was legal, so quit complaining. Today, it’s illegal. That’s it. Quit complaining. End of conversation. Testosterone’s out.”

Sonnen fought Anderson Silva for the middleweight title at UFC 117 in California in August 2010. After that fight, which he dominated for four rounds before being submitted late in the fight, he tested positive for elevated testosterone levels and was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission.

Sonnen appealed the suspension, saying he had medical reasons for his TRT use after being diagnosed with hypogonadism in 2008. The CSAC reduced his suspension on the grounds he failed to disclose a medical treatment. But the end result was Sonnen becoming the early face of TRT use in the sport, at least until recent months, when Belfort took that unofficial title in the court of public opinion.

Sonnen has taken shots at Belfort in the past, as he has with other Brazilian fighters like Anderson Silva and now Wanderlei Silva. When asked about the new fight between Machida and Weidman by “FOX Sports Live,” Sonnen didn’t take any jabs at Belfort and instead trumpeted the UFC’s new “superfight” at UFC 173 between Weidman, the current middleweight champ, and Machida, a former light heavyweight champ.

“This is an incredible fight,” Sonnen said. “First off, Chris Weidman is the undefeated, undisputed middleweight champion of the world, taking out the all-time pound-for-pound king Anderson Silva famously. Lyoto Machida has never looked better since he’s come down to 185 pounds. He’s undefeated with a knockout of Mark Munoz, a unanimous decision over Gegard Mousasi and he’s a former light heavyweight world champion. When you talk about superfights, you’re talking about a champion from one weight class taking on a champion from another weight class. You want a superfight? On May 24, you’re getting one.”

For the latest on UFC 173, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.