Vitor Belfort dropped out of his upcoming UFC middleweight title shot on Thursday a few hours after the Nevada Athletic Commission banned testosterone replacement therapy. Seahawks Russell Wilson Lights Out Jersey . Belfort was scheduled to fight 185-pound champion Chris Weidman at UFC 173 on May 24. His title shot was given to Lyoto Machida by UFC President Dana White. UFC 173 is the next major card in Las Vegas, the UFCs hometown. The influential Nevada commission voted unanimously on Thursday to stop granting therapeutic use exemptions for TRT, closing a widely criticized loophole that allowed mixed martial arts fighters to compete on steroids. "As other jurisdictions may follow suit, I am going to drop my TRT program and compete in MMA without it," Belfort said in a statement provided to Fox, the UFCs broadcast partner. "Given the time constraints involved between now and my proposed next bout in May, I have determined not to apply for a license to fight in Nevada at this time." The 36-year-old Belfort has been open about his use of synthetic testosterone in recent years. His sanctioned steroid use has coincided with a career resurgence for the former UFC light heavyweight champion, who won three consecutive bouts by early-round knockout in 2013 while fighting in his native Brazil. Belfort claimed he needed TRT because of low testosterone, an argument which generated wide criticism because he failed a drug test for elevated testosterone in 2006 following a bout in Las Vegas for the Pride promotion against Dan Henderson, another acknowledged TRT user. Use of performance-enhancing drugs can lower the users natural testosterone levels. Belfort hadnt fought in Nevada since February 2011, before his announced TRT use began. He had intended to apply for an exemption to use synthetic testosterone before UFC 173. White and the UFC have been increasingly critical of TRT use in recent months, with White telling The Associated Press in January he supported the elimination of therapeutic use exemptions for testosterone. White hailed the Nevada commissions ruling Thursday. "We believe our athletes should compete based on their natural abilities and on an even playing field," White said. "We also intend to honour 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." The Nevada commission had granted therapeutic use exemptions for several fighters in recent years, including contenders Chael Sonnen and Frank Mir, but had never approved synthetic testosterone for a fighter who had failed a drug test for anabolic steroids. Machida is another former UFC light heavyweight champion from Brazil. He is getting a title shot against Weidman in just his third bout at 185 pounds after winning four of his last five fights overall. Weidman took the title from longtime UFC champion Anderson Silva last July and defended it in a rematch in December when Silva broke his leg while kicking Weidmans knee. Weidman has been critical of Belforts testosterone use, once saying Belfort "looks like the Hulk now" and hoping the UFC wouldnt schedule their bout in Brazil, where drug testing is considered much less stringent than in the U.S. Seahawks Doug Baldwin Green Jersey . -- Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky should not get a new trial after being convicted of sexually abusing 10 boys, an appeals court ruled Wednesday. Seahawks Cortez Kennedy Limited Jersey . His play of late has reached All-Star calibre, Warriors coach Mark Jackson insisted after watching Lee lead Golden State to its 10th consecutive win Tuesday night, the Warriors longest streak since the 1975-76 season and one short of the franchise record of 11 wins in a row during the 1971-72 campaign.STANFORD, Calif. -- For nearly 9 minutes, Arizona made defensive stop after stop. In that critical sequence, the top-ranked Wildcats held Stanford scoreless and helped preserve their perfect start to the season. This confident, unbeaten group believes it should be doing that all game long. For Arizona, three straight defensive stops is called a "kill." Nick Johnson kept Arizonas unblemished record going for another game, hitting a go-ahead 3-pointer with 51 seconds remaining and two free throws with 5.8 seconds left as Arizona survived for a 60-57 victory Wednesday night for its school-record 21st straight win. "Were an outstanding defensive team. It isnt as if we changed any scheme, we just buckled down and had a lot of players playing very hard, and our ability to hold them to what we did is a big reason we won. Our defence won the game tonight," Arizona coach Sean Miller said. "No question we have to execute better on offence and we have to be more confident at the line." After Johnson hit a jumper in the middle of the key with 2:36 remaining to make it 55-53, Dwight Powell answered on a baseline drive with 1:21 to go before Johnson delivered once more. Johnson finished with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists and T.J. McConnell added 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists for Arizona (21-0, 8-0 Pac-12), off to the programs best start in conference play in more than a decade. Arizona is one of three unbeaten teams left in Division I, joining No. 2 Syracuse, which also won Wednesday night. Fourth-ranked Wichita State hasnt lost either. Powell and Josh Huestis each scored 13 points for Stanford (13-7, 4-4), which outshot Arizona 38 per cent to 36 per cent. "For 38 minutes, I thought we were right there," Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins said. "Credit Arizona for making the plays they had to make at the end. Nick Johnson stepping up, whether at the foul line or whether it was a 3-point bucket late. Ive watched a lot of tape of them, hes done it all year." Johnson missed a free throw with 228 seconds left and Stanford called timeout. Seahawks Doug Baldwin Womens Jersey. Huestis missed a 3 from the left wing and Aaron Gordon secured the rebound, but he also missed a free throw giving the Cardinal one final shot. Chasson Randle missed a long 3 just before the final buzzer for Stanford. After a 3-pointer by Huestis with 10:03 remaining, Stanford didnt score again until Powells layin at 1:21 -- and Powell missed two free throws at 4:36 that would have put his team ahead. "Thats what we should have done the whole game. We came out a little lackadaisical and after that we turned it up when the sense of urgency turned up, and after that we kind of locked down," Gordon said. "It was good to come on the road and get a win, regardless of whether we won by 20 or we won by three like we did." Arizona, ranked No. 1 for a school-record eighth consecutive week, overcame a slow start on the way to an eighth straight win against Stanford. The Cardinal beat two Top 25 teams already with victories at then-No. 10 Connecticut and at then-No. 17 Oregon earlier this month. But not this time given their struggles in the waning moments at Maples Pavilion, which hosted a No. 1 mens team for the first time since losing 72-69 to Arizona on March 1, 2003. The Wildcats had a large contingent of fans in the crowd cheering "U of A! U of A!" Anthony Brown beat the halftime buzzer with a basket to put Stanford ahead 31-30. Arizona had trailed at halftime several times already this season only to produce a big second half. Arizona is on such a roll the players expect to win, even when they might not be at their best in a hostile environment. "One of the things we need to do is play defence at a high level more consistently and I think that will help us out a lot," forward Brandon Ashley said. "When we were down, we werent thinking about being down. For any team to be competitive, at any level, you have to be confident in yourself." Stanfords last home win against a No. 1 team came against Arizona, 82-74, on Feb. 4, 1988. ' ' '
