Overnight, Pat Healy has unwittingly become the poster child for why active MMA fighters shouldn’t be taking marijuana.
Healy tested positive for the drug following an impressive win over Jim Miller at UFC 159 in April and that’s lead to him being suspended for 90 days and having the resulted amended to a ‘no contest’ ruling.
That’s damaging enough on it’s own, but the real hammerblow for Healy is the fact that the UFC has a strict policy in place that any bonus money earned is cancelled if a fighters fails a drug test.
In Healy’s case that means he misses out on a whopping $130,000 after having won both the ‘Fight Of The Night’ and ‘Submission Of The Night’ awards at the event.
When you consider that only leaves the former Strikeforce fighter with a paltry $17,500 basic pay from the fight that’s a devastating blow for the veteran fighter and sends a clear warning to other fighters who continue to hit the gamble button by taking marijuana recreationally.
You have to feel sorry for him as in reality the punishment here doesn’t really fit the crime, but as I’ve said a number of times before, it clearly states in the rules that marijuana is an illegal drug and there’s been a number of high profile cases of fighters getting caught for it in recent times, so in the end they only have themselves to blame if they choose to ignore the clear warning signs.
Since the news first broke Healy has released a statement apologizing for his actions and vowing to clean up his act.
“I would like to start off by apologizing to the UFC, Jim Miller, the MMA community, its fans, my family, teammates and coaches for my positive testing for marijuana after my UFC 159 fight with Jim Miller. I was fully aware of the UFC and State Commissions drug policies and made poor life choices. I stand behind the UFC and State Commission’s disciplinary actions. I support efforts to make MMA and sports a clean, safe and fair place to compete.
First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge and take responsibility for my mistake. I made a very poor choice to socially use marijuana and now I must face the consequences of that choice. I can assure you that I will do everything the UFC and State Commission asks of me and beyond. I will also make a conscious effort to be a better role model within the MMA community.”
