Tag: UFC 159

Dana White: Like Him or Not, Bryan Caraway ‘100 Percent’ Deserved the Bonus

It seemed no one in the MMA world (especially Nate Diaz) was too happy about Bryan Caraway being awarded a $65,000 Submission of the Night bonus for his fight at UFC 159 only after Pat Healy tested positive for marijuana. The UFC gave the money to Cara…

It seemed no one in the MMA world (especially Nate Diaz) was too happy about Bryan Caraway being awarded a $65,000 Submission of the Night bonus for his fight at UFC 159 only after Pat Healy tested positive for marijuana.

The UFC gave the money to Caraway, which conformed to their rule that no fighter can receive a discretionary post-fight bonus if they test positive for any banned substance after the fight is over.  Healy‘s test returned a positive result for marijuana and the New Jersey Athletic Control Board suspended him 90 days. His win over Jim Miller was changed to a no-contest.

In addition, Healy lost out on $130,000 in bonuses for Fight of the Night and Submission of the Night.

Caraway was given the bonus but then proceeded to state in an interview with MMAJunkie.com that he had “zero remorse or guilt” for taking the bonus after Healy tested positive and that he has “zero tolerance” for people that smoke marijuana.

Regardless of Caraway’s comments being in good taste or not when it seemed he was somehow gloating while Healy was left $130,000 poorer, UFC President Dana White says the decision to strip the bonuses from one fighter and give to another was absolutely the right move to make.

“He wasn’t eligible for that bonus. I know nobody likes Bryan Caraway.  Bryan Caraway followed the rules. He had a submission that night and he followed the rules,” White said on Thursday about the decision when speaking to the media at UFC 160. “He absolutely, 100 percent deserves that bonus.”

The use of marijuana in sports continues to be a controversial and much-debated subject, but for now it is still deemed illegal and White says Healy knew that going into his fight at UFC 159. Whether he believes the drug should be banned or not doesn’t matter.  Marijuana is illegal right now, and Healy tested positive for the drug and thus becomes ineligible for the bonuses.

“It’s illegal.  You can’t do it, it’s a banned substance,” White said.  “Should it be? I necessarily don’t think so. It doesn’t matter. It’s a banned substance. Every fighter knows you go in and you use marijuana and you get caught, you’re busted.”

White also points out that the rule affects any fighter on the UFC roster who fails a post-fight drug test no matter what substance they used. It also counts for fighters who miss weight; they are no longer eligible to win post-fight bonuses, either.

Whether marijuana usage should land in the same category as a serious performance-enhancing drug like steroids remains a subject worth discussing, but White believes there is no grey area on this matter when it comes to UFC policy.

Cheating is cheating and cheaters will not be rewarded.

“Imagine what it would say if I gave that kid $130,000 for not following the rules?” White said in closing.

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

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Quote of the Day: Did Jon Jones Beat Some Much-Needed Humility Into Chael Sonnen?


(“And you tell Anderson that if he wants the true middleweight belt, he can ask me nicely and I will have it back by lunch!” Photo via Getty Images.)

When asked by MMA Heat’s Karyn Bryant about the likelihood of a potential fight with Wanderlei Silva next, Chael P. Sonnen recently stated the following (emphasis mine):

I’m not looking for it anymore, I don’t like to bully guys. I tried to fight him, he doesn’t want to fight. I’m not gonna stick a finger in a guy’s chest. If a guy says ‘no,’ I’m not gonna be a jerk about it. 

We shit you not, that quote (not the caption one, that’s fake and you damn well know it) came directly from the mouth of Chael P. Sonnen. As in the Chael P. Sonnen who once threatened to smack Anderson Silva’s wife on the ass. As in the Chael P. Sonnen who once declared that Lance Armstrong gave himself cancer through PED use (which to be fair, he got the PED part right). As in the Chael P. Sonnen who called Wanderlei Silva a “dirtbag” some three weeks ago when challenging him to a fight in the first place.

Either Jon Jones succeeded where Anderson Silva failed and managed to actually beat some humility into “The American Gangster” or Wandy’s threat to “suck his blood” was just a little too far outside the comfort zone of his Christian, conservative-Republican background to tolerate. Or Wandy has been offered the fight, turned it down, and is pulling another prank on us. Or Joe Silva dropped his cell phone in the toilet and hasn’t had access to the Internet since April.

Whatever the case may be, we suddenly, like, really need to see this fight. So touche, Chael. Tou-fuckin’-che.

–J. Jones 


(“And you tell Anderson that if he wants the true middleweight belt, he can ask me nicely and I will have it back by lunch!” Photo via Getty Images.)

When asked by MMA Heat’s Karyn Bryant about the likelihood of a potential fight with Wanderlei Silva next, Chael P. Sonnen recently stated the following (emphasis mine):

I’m not looking for it anymore, I don’t like to bully guys. I tried to fight him, he doesn’t want to fight. I’m not gonna stick a finger in a guy’s chest. If a guy says ‘no,’ I’m not gonna be a jerk about it. 

We shit you not, that quote (not the caption one, that’s fake and you damn well know it) came directly from the mouth of Chael P. Sonnen. As in the Chael P. Sonnen who once threatened to smack Anderson Silva’s wife on the ass. As in the Chael P. Sonnen who once declared that Lance Armstrong gave himself cancer through PED use (which to be fair, he got the PED part right). As in the Chael P. Sonnen who called Wanderlei Silva a “dirtbag” some three weeks ago when challenging him to a fight in the first place.

Either Jon Jones succeeded where Anderson Silva failed and managed to actually beat some humility into “The American Gangster” or Wandy’s threat to “suck his blood” was just a little too far outside the comfort zone of his Christian, conservative-Republican background to tolerate. Or Wandy has been offered the fight, turned it down, and is pulling another prank on us. Or Joe Silva dropped his cell phone in the toilet and hasn’t had access to the Internet since April.

Whatever the case may be, we suddenly, like, really need to see this fight. So touche, Chael. Tou-fuckin’-che.

–J. Jones 

Bryan Caraway Denies Claim by Bellator’s Michelle Ould That He Sold PED’s

Right about now, bantamweight Bryan Caraway probably wishes he was still the guy who everyone made fun of for being the submissive boyfriend of fellow UFC fighter Miesha Tate. Instead, “Kid Lightning” has been under fire for the better part of thi…

Right about now, bantamweight Bryan Caraway probably wishes he was still the guy who everyone made fun of for being the submissive boyfriend of fellow UFC fighter Miesha Tate. 

Instead, “Kid Lightning” has been under fire for the better part of this week for accepting Pat Healy’s “Submission of the Night” bonus from UFC 159 after slamming fighters who use marijuana, according to MMAJunkie.com. 

MMAJunkie.com also reported that Healy was to have his “Submission of the Night,” “Knockout of the Night” and win bonuses, totaling $135,000, revoked after testing positive for marijuana after the April pay-per-view event.   

Now, the saga continues as Bellator women’s flyweight Michelle Ould accused Caraway of being a hypocrite.

Ould wrote on Twitter that despite Caraway’s adamant anti-drug stance, he used to sell performance-enhancing drugs to her roommate. 

It didn’t take long for the tweet to be brought to Caraway’s attention, where he said that Ould made up the story to gain notoriety. 

 

 

Ould goes on to say what she stated is a fact that she has known for years and dismisses Caraway’s notion that maybe she has him confused with someone else. 

The Bellator competitor trains at Oregon’s famed Team Quest facility, a gym Caraway once called home, so it’s not unfathomable the two have some mutual acquaintances and/or friends.  

However, beyond that, there are few certainties to draw any conclusions from. 

Dozens of fans have commented on T-Cat’s Twitter page since then, with only one person telling a similar story: 

 

 

Ould isn’t the first fighter to call out Caraway in this situation.

Recent UFC lightweight contender Nate Diaz was issued a 90-day suspension and $20,000 fine in light of a tweet, which has since been deleted, where he aimed a homosexual slur at Caraway for accepting Healy’s “Submission of the Night” bonus (via UFC.com).

Is there any possibility the relatively unknown Ould has broken a big story here, or is this simply an odd situation that has now spiraled out of control? 

 

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com and contributes MMA videos to The Young Turks Sports Show.

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In Light of Pat Healy’s Positive Marijuana Test, Bryan Caraway Declares Hatred of All Things Irie


(A stern anti-marijuana crusader hand-in-hand with the marijuana king of Oakland? Looks like Martin Scorsese just found his next screenplay. Photo via Esther Lin/MMA Fighting)

There’s really not much more that can be said about Pat Healy’s — or really, any other fighter’s — positive test for marijuana and subsequent suspension/fines. As insane as it is that we live in a world where marijuana usage often carries a higher penalty for MMA fighters than that of steroids, it’s also a rule that every fighter understands the moment they become an employee of the UFC. Simply put, if you’re not smart enough to understand exactly how long marijuana metabolites stay in your system prior to a fight, you pretty much deserve what’s coming to you. It’s the reason I picked a line of work that literally allows me to blow bong hits at my computer screen while writing this. Not that I am — as with alcohol, I don’t believe in smoking before noon. On weekdays.

That’s not to say that we relish whenever a fighter is busted for marijuana, in fact it’s usually quite the opposite. In the case of Healy, he had the biggest (and possibly most exciting) win of his career negated and over 100k in bonus money revoked because he liked to kick back with a little Wildwood Weed after a day of getting his ass kicked. It’s a better excuse than most of us have, but don’t expect the man who received his revoked $65,000 “Submission of the Night” bonus, Bryan Caraway, to offer him any sympathy. In an interview with MMAJunkie, Caraway shot from the hip when discussing his feelings for all of us you dirty, pot-smoking degenerates:

I couldn’t be more happy, and it was an insanely pleasant surprise

All I’ve got to say is that’s some expensive weed. I like Healy a lot. I came up through the fighting ranks with him. We used to train together at Team Quest. I love the guy. But I have absolutely zero remorse or guilt.

I hate weed. I cannot stand it. I’ve never tried it. I’ve never smoked a drug in my life. So I have absolutely zero tolerance for people that do it. I don’t care if it’s legal in some places or not. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous. Whether it’s legal in real life or not, they tell you to follow the rules. You need to follow the rules.


(A stern anti-marijuana crusader hand-in-hand with the marijuana king of Oakland? Looks like Martin Scorsese just found his next screenplay. Photo via Esther Lin/MMA Fighting)

There’s really not much more that can be said about Pat Healy’s — or really, any other fighter’s — positive test for marijuana and subsequent suspension/fines. As insane as it is that we live in a world where marijuana usage often carries a higher penalty for MMA fighters than that of steroids, it’s also a rule that every fighter understands the moment they become an employee of the UFC. Simply put, if you’re not smart enough to understand exactly how long marijuana metabolites stay in your system prior to a fight, you pretty much deserve what’s coming to you. It’s the reason I picked a line of work that literally allows me to blow bong hits at my computer screen while writing this. Not that I am — as with alcohol, I don’t believe in smoking before noon. On weekdays.

That’s not to say that we relish whenever a fighter is busted for marijuana, in fact it’s usually quite the opposite. In the case of Healy, he had the biggest (and possibly most exciting) win of his career negated and over 100k in bonus money revoked because he liked to kick back with a little Wildwood Weed after a day of getting his ass kicked. It’s a better excuse than most of us have, but don’t expect the man who received his revoked $65,000 “Submission of the Night” bonus, Bryan Caraway, to offer him any sympathy. In an interview with MMAJunkie, Caraway shot from the hip when discussing his feelings for all of us you dirty, pot-smoking degenerates:

I couldn’t be more happy, and it was an insanely pleasant surprise

All I’ve got to say is that’s some expensive weed. I like Healy a lot. I came up through the fighting ranks with him. We used to train together at Team Quest. I love the guy. But I have absolutely zero remorse or guilt.

I hate weed. I cannot stand it. I’ve never tried it. I’ve never smoked a drug in my life. So I have absolutely zero tolerance for people that do it. I don’t care if it’s legal in some places or not. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous. Whether it’s legal in real life or not, they tell you to follow the rules. You need to follow the rules.

While Caraway is certainly correct in regards to “the rules,” I always find it baffling when someone declares their staunch opposition to a substance, law, or cause while simultaneously stating that they have no experience or understanding of the substance/law/cause upon which their opinion is based.

Look, gun control is one thing — although I personally think the same rules apply — but to say that you cannot tolerate people who use a substance as harmless as weed regardless of its legality is plain ignorant. It’s also a setback of being raised in a society based on “freedom” — we rally behind the liberties and causes that apply to our individual lives while declaring that we have the right to deny our fellow man of different freedoms without even attempting to understand their point of view. It’s hypocrisy at its finest, and Caraway seems to fit this mold to a tee. To quote Honest Abe, “Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves.”

But look at me, getting on my soapbox again. The fact is, Healy was aware of the potential consequences the moment he took a puff of that sweet, sweet herb, and now he will have deal with those consequences. If he doesn’t like it, maybe he should find a different line of work. Or just sign with Bellator.

–J. Jones

Bryan Caraway Has ‘Zero Remorse’ Taking Pat Healy’s UFC Bonus After Drug Test

Marijuana has cost former Strikeforce lightweight Pat Healy both his spot in the UFC title hunt and $130,000 in bonus money, but Bryan Caraway couldn’t be happier.As reported earlier today by B/R MMA, Healy’s misfortunes started when he failed his…

Marijuana has cost former Strikeforce lightweight Pat Healy both his spot in the UFC title hunt and $130,000 in bonus money, but Bryan Caraway couldn’t be happier.

As reported earlier today by B/R MMA, Healy’s misfortunes started when he failed his UFC 159 post-fight drug test, turning his Fight of the Night and Submission of the Night victory over top-ranked Jim Miller into a no-contest result.

And just to drive the point home, UFC president Dana White added that $65,000 of that money would go to Bryan Caraway, who had the only other submission win of the event.

MMA Junkie spoke with Caraway about the news, with the bantamweight stating that he had “zero remorse” about being handed the bonus money and “couldn’t be more happy” about the fallout over Healy’s “expensive weed”:

All I’ve got to say is that’s some expensive weed. I like Healy a lot. I came up through the fighting ranks with him. We used to train together at Team Quest. I love the guy. But I have absolutely zero remorse or guilt.

I hate weed. I cannot stand it. I’ve never tried it. I’ve never smoked a drug in my life. So I have absolutely zero tolerance for people that do it. I don’t care if it’s legal in some places or not. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous. Whether it’s legal in real life or not, they tell you to follow the rules. You need to follow the rules.

Ironically, this isn’t the first time the Team Alpha Male fighter has fought tooth and nail for his bonuses.

Despite Caraway losing a close struggle to Takeya Mizugaki in a previous bout at UFC on Fuel TV 8, Miesha Tate went to Dana White after the fact, demanding the UFC award her boyfriend his win bonus for a “BS” decision.

Caraway also won a Fight of the Night bonus for his performance at UFC 149 last July against Mitch Gagnon, winning via third-round rear-naked choke submission.

Although he has recently drawn massive heat from MMA fans and pundits for threatening to “break” Ronda Rousey (via Bloody Elbow), Caraway has nonetheless managed to stay afloat in the UFC, maintaining a winning record of 3-1 since joining the promotion in 2011.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania and The L.A. Times.

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Bryan Caraway Receives Pat Healy’s $65K ‘Submission of the Night’ Bonus

Following a failed post-UFC 159 drug test by surging lightweight contender Pat Healy, Bryan Caraway is now $65,000 richer.One of the repercussions of Healy testing positive for marijuana after the April pay-per-view event is that he loses bot…

Following a failed post-UFC 159 drug test by surging lightweight contender Pat Healy, Bryan Caraway is now $65,000 richer.

One of the repercussions of Healy testing positive for marijuana after the April pay-per-view event is that he loses both his “Fight of the Night” and “Submission of the Night” bonuses, worth $65,000 each. 

UFC president Dana White tweeted on Wednesday morning that Caraway would now be the recipient of last month’s “Submission of the Night” bonus: 

As Bleacher Report’s Damon Martin first reported last night, Healy was the first one to announce his failed drug test. Through his management team, he released a lengthy statement apologizing for the indiscretion. 

In addition to the massive lost purse, which also includes the deduction of his undisclosed win bonus, Healy will serve a 90-day suspension.

The win over Miller, a technical submission that rendered the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt unconscious, was Healy‘s seventh in a row and his biggest victory in recent memory.

Following the landmark win, the UFC placed “Bam Bam” at the No. 9 spot in its official lightweight rankings.

However, the bout with Miller now officially appears in the record books as a no-contest. 

Earlier today, Healy tweeted his thanks to the fans who are standing by him during this tough time.

Meanwhile, Caraway defeated the always tough Johnny Bedford at the Newark, New Jersey event last month with a mounted guillotine late in the third round. 

Caraway, who negotiated the fight bonuses up from $50,000 to $65,000, according to MMA Junkie, accepted the fight on less than a week’s notice and still managed to look impressive. 

The bantamweight is now 3-1 inside the Octagon, with his only loss being a controversial split decision that went to Takeya Mizugaki at UFC on FUEL 8 in March. 

 

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com and contributes MMA videos to The Young Turks Sports Show.

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