It’s fair to say it’s been a strange few days for UFC woman’s bantamweight fighter Jessica Eye who’s been making headlines since her win over Sarah Kaufman at UFC 166 was overturned to a ‘no contest’ ruling due to a failed drug test.
In the aftermath of the ruling it was believed that Eye had failed the test for an apparently innocent reason – the use of a blood thinner she’s been prescribed since she was in a serious car accident as a teenager – but in recent days it’s been claimed that it was actually marijuana use that lead to her being handed a probationary suspension by the commission in Texas.
However, Eye has doggedly denied that claim, falling out with the BloodyElbow website who first dug up the information, then deleting her Twitter account in anger.
Yesterday she went on Ariel Helwani’s ‘MMA Hour’ show to continue to deny what the media had been reporting, though refusing to state exactly why she had gotten into bother with the commission.
However, Eye was then left with egg on her face when just hours later the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation confirmed that she had in fact been punished for testing positive for cannabinoids, a major component of marijuana.
Even the host of the show, Helwani was left struggling to understand why Eye hadn’t just told the truth.
“That’s disappointing,” Helwani stated on Twitter after hearing the news. “Reached out to her/her mgr to ask why. No response. Would also ask again: was this really worth all that fuss? But damn, from the timeline to the offense…that was just fantasyland. I was even wondering, why come on if you’re not gonna clear the air?”
It’s a fair question, particularly as admitting that you’d smoked marijuana was hardly going to be an earth-shattering announcement, and might even have played in her favor.
Better late than never, Eye has actually issued an apology of sorts today via Instagram which reads, “No one is more disappointed about this than I am. I take this personally and hold myself accountable,” but by this stage the damage has already been done.
Despite all the controversy Eye is still slated to fight Alexis Davis at UFC 170 in less than two weeks time. That may give Eye a welcome opportunity to turn the attention back towards her fighting ability, but time will tell whether the unwanted attention she’s received in recent days will have a negative effect on her performance or not.
