You might not have heard about this, but the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s Steroid and Drug Testing Advisory Panel was held in Las Vegas over the weekend, and among the primary issues discussed was that of the acceptable threshold for marijuana metabolites in a given fighter’s system that the UFC currently allows, specifically on an international level. You see, since the UFC usually acts as its own regulatory body in foreign countries, an issue has recently emerged regarding the discrepancy between their acceptable level for metabolites — 50 ng/mL — and the newly-deemed acceptable level of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) — 150 ng/mL.
Fortunately, UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner revealed during the panel that the promotion’s threshold will now be raised to meet the level of WADA’s. He spoke with MMAJunkie, then presumably passed one to the left hand side:
“When we self-regulate around the world, we are going to go the WADA standard of 150. So we’re starting that immediately.”
Ratner also told MMAjunkie.com the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission – or Comissao Atletica Brasileira de MMA (CABMMA) – which regulates UFC events in Brazil, has also agreed to the same standard and will make the change at next week’s UFC on FUEL TV 10 event in Fortaleza. Brazilian commission officials later confirmed their decision.
You may be asking yourself, “What exactly does this threshold change mean for UFC fighters moving forward?”
You might not have heard about this, but the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s Steroid and Drug Testing Advisory Panel was held in Las Vegas over the weekend, and among the primary issues discussed was that of the acceptable threshold for marijuana metabolites in a given fighter’s system that the UFC currently allows, specifically on an international level. You see, since the UFC usually acts as its own regulatory body in foreign countries, an issue has recently emerged regarding the discrepancy between their acceptable level for metabolites – 50 ng/mL — and the newly-deemed acceptable level of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) — 150 ng/mL.
Fortunately, UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner revealed during the panel that the promotion’s threshold will now be raised to meet the level of WADA’s. He spoke with MMAJunkie, then presumably passed one to the left hand side:
“When we self-regulate around the world, we are going to go the WADA standard of 150. So we’re starting that immediately.”
Ratner also told MMAjunkie.com the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission – or Comissao Atletica Brasileira de MMA (CABMMA) – which regulates UFC events in Brazil, has also agreed to the same standard and will make the change at next week’s UFC on FUEL TV 10 event in Fortaleza. Brazilian commission officials later confirmed their decision.
You may be asking yourself, “What exactly does this threshold change mean for UFC fighters moving forward?” Well, the basic idea is this: By raising the threshold to 150 ng/mL, the UFC is aiming to catch fighters who use marijuana in competition, rather than the days (or in Pat Healy’s case, weeks) before a fight.
While the debate over whether or not marijuana should even be tested for in the first place continues to rage on, the change suggests a shift in mindset regarding marijuana’s place in combat sports in general. It’s also one that Ratner hopes the Nevada State Athletic Commission will adopt in the near future as well:
I want to commend the committee. This goes along with the UFC’s thinking, as well as my own, that we’re moving progressively to the future, and times are changing.
As for the ongoing TRT debate? Well, the commission is trying to work that out as well, proposing a decrease in the acceptable T/E ratio amongst fighters from 6-to-1 to 4-to-1. No comment.
(Riddle poses with Anthony Johnso…er…Christopher “Big Black” Boykin, a guy so cool that he forces the *fighters* to fist pose in pictures with him. Via Riddle’s Twitter.)
TUF 7‘s Matt Riddle may lack the ability to rid his body of marijuana metabolites in time for a scheduled fight, but don’t let that fool you into thinking that he lacks his own strict moral code. Case in point, following Riddle’s second positive post-fight test for the banned substance at UFC on FUEL 7 and subsequent firing, Riddle told reporters that, should the UFC suddenly want him back after he racks up six or seven wins in the next year or two, he would probably turn them down. It was a bold statement to make, especially considering the “sickening, depressing nightmare” life outside the UFC has been described as by people like Todd Duffee, who have actually had to experience it.
But as we often (and somewhat ironically) say, “actions speak louder than words.” And if Riddle was seeking to eliminate even the possibility of a UFC return down the line, he has successfully pulled it off. It has recently been announced that Riddle’s Legacy FC contract has been bought out by Bellator, which if recent reports are any indication, is where he shall now remain for the rest of his natural life. Riddle will thusly be participating in the promotion’s upcoming Season 9 welterweight tournament, as he told MMAJunkie:
I had so many options after I left the UFC, but knowing that I was able to compete in a tournament against guys like Paul Daley, Ben Saunders and Douglas Lima, signing with Bellator was an easy decision. This division is just so stacked, and being able to fight in a tournament makes it even better. Bellator is doing a lot of great things right now (Author’s note: Gee, I wonder what he’s REEFERring to *tap dances off stage*), and I want to be a part of it.
“Oh, you’ll be a part of it alright…FOREVER!!! MU HU HA HA HA!” – Bjorn Rebney by way of Ben Goldstein.
Bellator’s welterweight tournament is set to get under way starting in the fall, although no specific dates or venues have yet to be named. Anyone give Riddle a decent chance of making some waves in his new promotion?
(Riddle poses with Anthony Johnso…er…Christopher “Big Black” Boykin, a guy so cool that he forces the *fighters* to fist pose in pictures with him. Via Riddle’s Twitter.)
TUF 7‘s Matt Riddle may lack the ability to rid his body of marijuana metabolites in time for a scheduled fight, but don’t let that fool you into thinking that he lacks his own strict moral code. Case in point, following Riddle’s second positive post-fight test for the banned substance at UFC on FUEL 7 and subsequent firing, Riddle told reporters that, should the UFC suddenly want him back after he racks up six or seven wins in the next year or two, he would probably turn them down. It was a bold statement to make, especially considering the ”sickening, depressing nightmare” life outside the UFC has been described as by people like Todd Duffee, who have actually had to experience it.
But as we often (and somewhat ironically) say, “actions speak louder than words.” And if Riddle was seeking to eliminate even the possibility of a UFC return down the line, he has successfully pulled it off. It has recently been announced that Riddle’s Legacy FC contract has been bought out by Bellator, which if recent reports are any indication, is where he shall now remain for the rest of his natural life. Riddle will thusly be participating in the promotion’s upcoming Season 9 welterweight tournament, as he told MMAJunkie:
I had so many options after I left the UFC, but knowing that I was able to compete in a tournament against guys like Paul Daley, Ben Saunders and Douglas Lima, signing with Bellator was an easy decision. This division is just so stacked, and being able to fight in a tournament makes it even better. Bellator is doing a lot of great things right now (Author’s note: Gee, I wonder what he’s REEFERring to *tap dances off stage*), and I want to be a part of it.
“Oh, you’ll be a part of it alright…FOREVER!!! MU HU HA HA HA!” – Bjorn Rebney by way of Ben Goldstein.
Bellator’s welterweight tournament is set to get under way starting in the fall, although no specific dates or venues have yet to be named. Anyone give Riddle a decent chance of making some waves in his new promotion?
(Nick Diaz just released footage of a pretty sketchy situation that he encountered before the UFC 158 weigh-ins. Read more about the so-called “Canadian loophole” right here.)
(Nick Diaz just released footage of a pretty sketchy situation that he encountered before the UFC 158 weigh-ins. Read more about the so-called “Canadian loophole” right here.)
In either case, it looks like Riddle will be given plenty of opportunities to do just that in the Texas-based organization Legalize It Legacy Fighting Championships, which Riddle announced he had signed a multi-fight deal with over the weekend via Twitter:
You have to appreciate how Riddle, being the witty bastard that he is, managed to reference both his recent quotes about beating his kids and the State of Texas’ history with blood baths in one masterfully written tweet. That’s what he was doing, right?
And in other news, Riddle’s opponent at UFC on FUEL 7, Che Mills, has successfully landed on his feet as well…
(When Keepin’ it Real Goes Wrong: Breakdance Edition. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.)
In either case, it looks like Riddle will be given plenty of opportunities to do just that in the Texas-based organization Legalize It Legacy Fighting Championships, which Riddle announced he had signed a multi-fight deal with over the weekend via Twitter:
You have to appreciate how Riddle, being the witty bastard that he is, managed to reference both his recent quotes about beating his kids and the State of Texas’ history with blood baths in one masterfully written tweet. That’s what he was doing, right?
And in other news, Riddle’s opponent at UFC on FUEL 7, Che Mills, has successfully landed on his feet as well.
Despite “giving up” in the third round of his fight with Riddle (White’s words, not ours), Mills has already signed a five-fight deal with UK-based promotion Cage Warriors, a promotion that has seen such names as Irish phenom Conor McGregor, Paul Daley, and TUF 6 runner-up Tommy Speer fight under its banner.
None of the details regarding Mills’ signing figures or debut opponent/date have been made available, but Cage Warriors CEO Graham Boylan had the following to say upon breaking the news (via MMAJunkie):
Che Mills is the best U.K. welterweight outside of the UFC at the moment, so I’m extremely happy that he has decided to come on board. A fighter of his caliber wouldn’t have been short of offers, but the fact that Che has opted to sign for Cage Warriors is proof that the guy is determined to return to the top. I have no doubt that he’ll get there too.
I’m a big fan of Che Mills. When the UFC recently released a bunch of guys, Che was the one I really wanted to bring in. He comes from a great camp and is always exciting to watch.
We will update you on the details of these two signings as soon as we are made aware.
(And this is the face he will make after he does.)
Since being released from the UFC following his second positive test for marijuana in his past three fights, TUF 7 alum Matt Riddle has been doing his damnedest to burn every last bridge that might possibly connect him to the organization he has literally built his entire professional MMA career in. And while Riddle succeeded in raising some interesting questions regarding the UFC’s policy of hiring and firing fighters during his recent interview on The MMA Hour, he also succeeded in completely sabotaging any potential of a return trip to the sport’s highest promotion, which according to him, is something he would prefer:
What I see happening is, a year or two from now the UFC calls me back after I’ve won probably like five or six fights, hopefully. And I’ll probably, at the time, say, ‘No.’ Because I really don’t like the direction they’re taking the company. They’re firing high-level talent so they can have lower level talent just scrap, and they’d rather have a brawl than a good technical fight. I think that’s going to be their downfall, because the fans are getting more educated. They’re getting smarter, and they don’t want to just see a slugfest and two retarded guys with brain damage bleeding everywhere.
Dana White’s response was expectantly blunt. Get it? Blunt? Be honest, that pun is so great you’d probably beat your kids in a fit of jealous rage if you weren’t so goddamn stoned.
Much more from this interview after the jump.
(And this is the face he will make after he does it.)
Since being released from the UFC following his second positive test for marijuana in his past three fights, TUF 7 alum Matt Riddle has been doing his damnedest to burn every last bridge that might possibly connect him to the organization he has literally built his entire professional MMA career in. And while Riddle succeeded in raising some interesting questions regarding the UFC’s policy of hiring and firing fighters during his recent interview on The MMA Hour, he also succeeded in completely sabotaging any potential of a return trip to the sport’s highest promotion, which according to him, is something he would prefer:
What I see happening is, a year or two from now the UFC calls me back after I’ve won probably like five or six fights, hopefully. And I’ll probably, at the time, say, ‘No.’ Because I really don’t like the direction they’re taking the company. They’re firing high-level talent so they can have lower level talent just scrap, and they’d rather have a brawl than a good technical fight. I think that’s going to be their downfall, because the fans are getting more educated. They’re getting smarter, and they don’t want to just see a slugfest and two retarded guys with brain damage bleeding everywhere.
Dana White’s response was expectantly blunt. Get it? Blunt? Be honest, that pun is so great you’d probably beat your kids in a fit of jealous rage if you weren’t so goddamn stoned.
Self-sabotage aside, Riddle did raise some interesting points about the UFC’s non-existent policy when it comes to releasing fighters. Most notably, that of fellow stoner marijuana enthusiast Dave Herman:
But you’ve got to look at guys like Dave Herman. Three fight losing streak, gets knocked out like three times in a row, fails two drug tests for weed, and he’s still in the UFC. And I don’t take anything from Herman, I’m sure he’s a great guy. But I don’t know. I think that’s very hypocritical, and those are politics right there. That’s not good business. That’s you guys getting together, doing a little pow-wow, and being like, ‘Let’s get rid of Riddle. He’s fighting more conservative. He’s going out there for wins. He’s fighting more educated. And I’d rather hire a couple guys from Australia or the U.K. that just brawl, and pay them half as much.
Obviously, we’re not going to retread the same sub-arguments that inevitably come hand-in-hand with the topic of marijuana in MMA (marijuana vs. TRT, the legality of marijuana in America, etc.). While Riddle points out some obvious flaws in the UFC’s policy of firing and hiring fighters, he fails to realize (or just neglects to mention) that until the fighters of the UFC form some sort of union, DW and friends will continue to hire and fire whoever the hell they want, when they want.
Of course, no bridge-burning ceremony would be complete without a conspiracy theory or two, and thankfully Riddle has us covered there:
A lot of lawyers think I have a lawsuit for wrongful termination. And, you know, I’m not really trying to go that route, because I like to fight and I’m not really trying to bellyache about it. But at the same time, if didn’t fail a drug test, and something was added to my urine, like Creatine and THC, or something like that, then I would like to know. Because I just think it was just really convenient.
Then even after my fight, Dana White was making comments, ‘Oh, maybe if people started fighting more exciting, unlike Riddle lately.’ He did a couple interviews and mentioned how I haven’t been fighting exciting, and then just so happens, a couple days later I fail a drug test and I get fired. There’s just a couple variables, it just seems really fishy.
Perhaps the most hilarious thing to take away from this statement is the idea that Matt Riddle talks to not one, but multiple lawyers in between bong hits — lawyers that we should probably assume received their degree from the same law school as Frito and Charlie Kelly. But his Rafael Cavalcante-esque conspiracy aside, does anyone agree with the inconsistencies in the UFC’s mentality regarding releasing fighters as pointed out by Riddle?
For the second time in less than a year, UFC welterweight Matt Riddle has tested positive for marijuana in a post-fight drug test, spurring the UFC to release him from his contract. Riddle’s latest failed test followed his split-decision win over Che Mills at UFC on FUEL 7 in London on February 16th, which came just seven months after his 90-day marijuana suspension following his UFC 149 win over Chris Clements. That victory was later changed to a no-contest, and it’s likely that Riddle’s latest win will be overturned as well.
Riddle was already on thin ice with the UFC because of the quality of his recent fights. Here’s Dana White calling him out by name while discussing the UFC’s decision to cut Jon Fitch: “Riddle fights just like Fitch. Has been lately, anyway. He went from being super exciting to now he wants to grab your legs and hold you down.”
Riddle had long maintained that he doesn’t use marijuana to get high, but for therapeutic purposes. As Riddle explained on The MMA Hour last October:
“I do smoke but I’m not smoking to get stoned. I’m smoking so I can finally relax, sit back and just not worry about things. People, maybe they did it in college one way, but for a guy like me, for a professional athlete that goes through what we go through, it’s medicine for me. Maybe for some little stoner sitting on the couch playing XBox, for him, it’s a drug. For me, it’s medicine…
For the second time in less than a year, UFC welterweight Matt Riddle has tested positive for marijuana in a post-fight drug test, spurring the UFC to release him from his contract. Riddle’s latest failed test followed his split-decision win over Che Mills at UFC on FUEL 7 in London on February 16th, which came just seven months after his 90-day marijuana suspension following his UFC 149 win over Chris Clements. That victory was later changed to a no-contest, and it’s likely that Riddle’s latest win will be overturned as well.
Riddle was already on thin ice with the UFC because of the quality of his recent fights. Here’s Dana White calling him out by name while discussing the UFC’s decision to cut Jon Fitch: “Riddle fights just like Fitch. Has been lately, anyway. He went from being super exciting to now he wants to grab your legs and hold you down.”
Riddle had long maintained that he doesn’t use marijuana to get high, but for therapeutic purposes. As Riddle explained on The MMA Hour last October:
“I do smoke but I’m not smoking to get stoned. I’m smoking so I can finally relax, sit back and just not worry about things. People, maybe they did it in college one way, but for a guy like me, for a professional athlete that goes through what we go through, it’s medicine for me. Maybe for some little stoner sitting on the couch playing XBox, for him, it’s a drug. For me, it’s medicine…
I don’t really understand the process anymore because I thought if you have a medical license and you’re prescribed by a doctor, all the guys are taking HGH and testosterone and fighting and getting the upper hand on people and I’ve already had serious injuries in my career already and I am only 26 and I am in serious pain sometimes and I use that. I use medical marijuana for my pain and I use it for everything else, too. I don’t take anything else while I see all of these other fighters popping Oxycontin and taking testosterone and just beating themselves up, so you know. They can do whatever they want to do, I am going to do what I do, and there is a reason why I am who I am. There is a reason why I don’t get hurt or don’t get tired.”
“You can do steroids in the UFC now, didn’t you hear? [TRT] is steroids and you can do steroids as long as you get a doctor’s note now. So Vitor Belfort just pops for testosterone and everybody’s like, ‘Oh, he failed.’ No he didn’t, he has a doctor’s note so it’s okay. And honestly, I think it’s ridiculous. The reason why they say I can’t use marijuana is because it’s a performance-enhancing drug. Okay, I understand that. It’s a performance-enhancing drug to you. Whatever. But testosterone isn’t? Steroids aren’t? And if you’re saying I can’t smoke because you need to keep other fighters safe or myself safe because I’m too high, don’t you think you should keep others safe by not letting people using steroids into the cage? That’s how I look at it…
“And on top of all that, it wouldn’t bother me if they tested for THC, because I would never fail for THC because I would literally have to be that high when they tested me or I’d have to be high the day before. Instead they just test you for metabolites which you just mentioned which can stay in your system for up to a month after you’re done smoking. Let’s be honest. It’s White America, it’s the big man, it’s the guy with the money, it’s the pharmaceutical companies, it’s the alcohol companies that don’t want want marijuana legalized and they’ll do anything. They’ll ridicule it, they’ve already had slanderous campaigns about it.
I’ve been smoking weed since I was 13 and look at me. I’m in the UFC and I smash people with a smile on my face. It’s not a performance enhancing drug. It makes me relax. It makes me happy. Honestly, it probably keeps me from beating my three kids because they’re always screaming and crying at me and my wife’s crazy and you know what life’s like. It’s hard sometimes and honestly, I like to go to my game room and rip a tube and just sit back and relax and enjoy a 20 minute show, go out, see my family, take care of everything I have to take care of, and that’s what I do. A lot of people think it’s okay to drink a fifth of jack and beat their wife. I don’t.”
I tend to quote Dr. Drew in situations like this: Addiction is continued use in the face of adverse consequences. I know some people will want to turn this story into a conversation about personal freedom, and how athletic commissions shouldn’t even be testing for marijuana metabolites in the first place. And I certainly don’t disagree with that. But the reality is, marijuana is currently an unapproved substance in MMA, and if Riddle continued to smoke after his first suspension, it suggests that his usage is now beyond his control. Does weed improve his mood, and help him to avoid beating his wife and kids? Sure, probably. He’ll just have to decide if it was worth screwing his career over.
