Chael Sonnen on TRT ban: 'I may have to stop competing in MMA ... it's as simple as that'

Not long after Chael Sonnen revealed just how "horrible" his day-to-day life would be without testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), the former two-time No. 1 middleweight contender revealed that it may affect his fight future, too.

During the latest edition of "UFC Tonight," Sonnen declared that his mixed martial arts (MMA) career could be cut short on the heels of the Nevada State Athletic Commission's (NSAC) landmark move to ban the controversial treatment.

But, only if he and his team can't find a way to get his testosterone to a healthy level without the aid of the controversial treatment.

"The American Gangster" explains:

"The first thing I need to do, is reserve the right to change the answer that I'm about to give a month from now. There's a lot of moving parts. I don't have all the information. The bottom line is testosterone is out. Now, as it relates to Vitor, I think this was a very genuine and sincere thing for him. Here's the problem that I have; a fighter that said seven days ago, ‘I need TRT or I can't do this,' and then all of a sudden goes, ‘Well, I'll just stop TRT.' I find that very disingenuous. For Vitor to say,'look, they changed the rules and I, for now at least, need to take myself out.' I am potentially in that same field. If this retires guys, then it retires guys. The rules are the rules, and the rules need to be followed. I personally, sorry to be long winded about this, but I'm going through this myself, where I've had to stop testosterone with the hope that we can find a new way to gain the results of upping testosterone to stay at a healthy level. If it doesn't work, I may have to stop the sport. And it's as simple as that."

Not exactly what Sonnen fans want to hear.

The ban has already affected Vitor Belfort, who was forced to bow out of his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 185-pound title fight against Chris Weidman at UFC 173, which was set to go down on May 24, 2014, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"The Phenom" has already begun his 90-day detox to rid himself of any extra testosterone his body was carrying prior to the rule change. And by the sound of it, Sonnen has done the same. Only time will tell if either man can perform at the high level they are accustomed to without TRT.

It will be interesting to see how this affects Sonnen's scheduled Light Heavyweight fight against Wanderlei Silva, which is set to go down on May 31, 2014, in Brazil, a country that will also no longer approve the treatment.

It is important to note that not every athletic commission has banned TRT, but now that Nevada and Brazil -- two of MMA's biggest hot spots -- have started the movement, don't be surprised if the rest of the field follow suit.