Tag: Cannabis

Sean O’Malley Off UFC 229 Following Failed Drug Test

A failed drug test has forced Sean O’Malley off UFC 229. The rising bantamweight star announced on Instagram tonight (Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018) that he had failed a USADA-mandated drug test. The failure forced him off of his scheduled bout with Jose Quiñonez at this weekend’s UFC 229. The UFC recently announced some changes to […]

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A failed drug test has forced Sean O’Malley off UFC 229.

The rising bantamweight star announced on Instagram tonight (Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018) that he had failed a USADA-mandated drug test. The failure forced him off of his scheduled bout with Jose Quiñonez at this weekend’s UFC 229.

The UFC recently announced some changes to their current drug testing partnership with USADA. Perhaps the biggest change came in the form of fighter failures not being announced until their case was resolved. This was due to cases involving unintentional use tarnishing fighters’ reputations.

O’Malley said he’s currently dealing with such a case himself. He wanted to get ahead of the game as a result. ‘Sugar’ announced his current issue to fans. He claims he’s identified the dietary supplement which caused the failure:

View this post on Instagram

? Just a speed bump on the way to greatness.

A post shared by Sugar Sean O'Malley (@sugaseanmma) on

O’Malley is maybe the UFC’s fastest-rising star at the lower weight divisions. He calls this setback only a “speed bump on the way to greatness,” but this is certain to be more than that as a result.

The well-liked prospect has built a large following in his first full year on the official UFC roster. He was fighting on by far his biggest card at UFC 229. Conor McGregor will be facing Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event. It’s tough to get a better card on which to gain exposure.

O’Malley is a highly-publicized user of marijuana. It’s unknown whether or not his failed drug test involves the oft-discussed use of cannabis. His words make it seem like it’s more of a performance-enhancing drug issue due to a tainted supplement.

He admitted he wanted to as open as possible even though his failure would have remained private under the new rules:

“Even though under the new policy, my case would not be public right now, I feel it’s important to be upfront and honest with my fans,” O’Malley wrote. … “We’ve sent remaining samples from the bottle I took to the USADA lab and [sic] as well as a full-sized bottle. I’m told the testing of these supplements can take as long as 30 days.”

“Sugar” won all three of his UFC bouts thus far. His most recent was a decision win over Andre Soukhamthath in March. He broke his foot and has been out since. His return on the UFC’s biggest-ever card will never materialize.

Another big-name talent is on the sidelines due to USADA regardless. Let’s hope it’s not for too long.

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Recent WWE Signee Matt Riddle Admits He Misses MMA

The newly signed WWE star Matt Riddle admits he misses fighting in MMA, where he once competed under the UFC banner.

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Former mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Matt Riddle has signed with WWE.

Riddle, a former competitor on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), fought all but one of his professional MMA fights in the UFC’s Octagon. Riddle would’ve had a four-fight win streak with the UFC at one point. Unfortunately, two of his victories were reversed to No Contests due to a pair of failed tests for *********.

Following his second failed test for *********, Riddle was released from the promotion. He fought once more in Titan FC, winning via second-round submission, before making the transition into professional wrestling.

Riddle had a tremendous amount of success on the independent scene before catching the attention of WWE. The professional wrestling juggernaut scooped Riddle up and inked him to a developmental contract. Riddle tells MMA Junkie that, despite his success in professional wrestling, he does miss fighting in MMA:

“I do miss it,” Riddle said. “I watch the fights. I watched Tyron Woodley dominate this week. I feel bad for the fighters and I know exactly – things are a little different now – but I know my world when I was in MMA, everything was tough.

“Life was just so tough. Everything was a struggle. Bills were a struggle. Even when you’re on top in the UFC, you only get paid a couple times a year. I’m just really glad to have that all behind me and focus on my craft.”

Riddle is one of several mixed martial artists who have made the switch over to professional wrestling. Most recently; Ronda Rousey, Jessamyn Duke, Tom Lawlor, Shayna Baszler, and many more have moved over. Riddle said that it takes more than just the ability to do moves and be athletic to be a wrestler – you need charisma:

“There’s a lot of people making the transition and doing it well,” Riddle said. “There are other guys that are doing great – and women – you’ve got Ronda and Shayna (Baszler), Jessamyn Duke. You’ve got Tom Lawlor, you’ve got me.

“There’s a lot of guys like ‘King Mo,’ for example, who is a big fan of professional wrestling, world-class fighter, world-class athlete, but I don’t think he’s the greatest pro wrestler. It’s more than moves and athleticism. It’s that charisma.”

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Watch: Sean O’Malley Surpasses Tyron Woodley’s Punching Power

Rising UFC bantamweight “Sugar” Sean O’Malley is currently set to return from injury to face Jose Quinonez at October 6’s UFC 229. He’s been out of action since March’s UFC 22, where he outlasted Andre Soukhamthath despite a badly injured foot. O’Malley has been one of the UFC’s most touted rising stars since his highly-publicized […]

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Rising UFC bantamweight “Sugar” Sean O’Malley is currently set to return from injury to face Jose Quinonez at October 6’s UFC 229.

He’s been out of action since March’s UFC 22, where he outlasted Andre Soukhamthath despite a badly injured foot. O’Malley has been one of the UFC’s most touted rising stars since his highly-publicized knockout on Dana White’s ‘Tuesday Night Contender Series’ in summer 2017.

Since then, the *********-focused O’Malley has made quite the name for himself. He’s carved out his own niche in the sport utilizing a very cannabis-friendly persona, evident by his full-on pimp getup on last night’s ‘UFC Tonight.’ O’Malley showed up with his trademark afro, shades, scarf, skinny jeans, and boots – but don’t let that fool you.

The kid can straight-up throw hands, and that became evident when he took to the show’s power-punching machine. There, O’Malley uncorked a shot so powerful that it surpassed UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley’s score and put him behind only heavyweights Derrick Lewis, Daniel Cormier, and Pat Barry.

Watch O’Malley’s power punch right here:

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Cynthia Calvillo Sounds Off About Failed Marijuana Test

UFC strawweight Cynthia Calvillo tested positive for marijuana following her fight at UFC 219, and the fallout has been confusing and disheartening, according to Calvillo herself. Calvillo holds a medical marijuana card in her home state of California, and competed at UFC 219, which was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, where medicinal marijuana is also […]

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UFC strawweight Cynthia Calvillo tested positive for marijuana following her fight at UFC 219, and the fallout has been confusing and disheartening, according to Calvillo herself.

Calvillo holds a medical marijuana card in her home state of California, and competed at UFC 219, which was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, where medicinal marijuana is also legal. However, USADA forbids it regardless of legality or medical permission, which has naturally caused some confusion for fighters like Calvillo.

She discussed the failed test on Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour and revealed that she has lost a sponsor due to the fallout:

“I really didn’t think I was doing anything wrong. I’m not trying to be a rebel, just, I don’t know. It just really, really sucks that I’m in this position right now.”

“They say you have to be literally pretty super, super high in order to test positive the day of the fight. There’s no way in hell I smoked or took any cannabis the week of my fight at all. Let alone the day of my fight.”

“They tell us, like, they’re comfortable about how much time you would need to be cleared for in-competition testing. The last time I had consumed cannabis was on Christmas Eve, which was the week of the fight. I usually use it for sleeping, I use it for inflammation, I have had my medical card for over two years. It’s something I’ve used especially because I had an injury where I broke arm my three times in a row, and so I use it for the medical component and cannabis, CBD does help heal your bones. I was also having trouble sleeping for a long time [and it’s] better than using over-the counter stuff.”

Many athletes have praised the use of cannabis and CBD oil for recovery after grueling trainings and workouts. Nate Diaz even boldly vaped CBD oil at a post-fight press conference, so it’s use is at least somewhat prevelant amongst MMA fighters.

Calvillo was retroactively suspended for nine months from the December 30 fight date and was fined 15 percent of her fight purse following her loss to Carla Esparza at UFC 219.

Do you think Calvillo’s punishment is too harsh considering she has a medicinal marijuana card in her home state?

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