Photo by Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
A literal trailblazer.
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight contender, Elias Theodorou, recently became the first mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter to receive a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for medical cannabis, courtesy of the British Columbia Athletic Commission.
“I am grateful both as a patient and an athlete for the approval of my medical cannabis TUE by the BC Athletic Commission, recognizing my fundamental Canadian right to medicate as prescribed by my medical doctor,” Theodorou said in the statement from Paradigm Sports Management. “I remain committed to fighting the negative stigma of medical cannabis, not only for myself but for all athletes.”
Theodorou (17-3), who rose to fame on “The Ultimate Fighter: Nations” back in 2014, tried (and failed) to score the same TUE with United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) during his time under the UFC banner, which ended last May.
The 31 year-old “Spartan,” who moonlights as a “Ring Boy” because he’s eye candy for these ladies, is coming off a technical knockout win over Hernani Perpetuo at Prospect Fighting Championships 12 last December.