LAS VEGAS — UFC president Dana White acknowledges that fighter restrictions on marijuana use are a little too strict, but he insists there should be a limit.
With the Nevada Athletic Commission recently handing Trevin Jones, Kevin Croom and Jose Flores suspensions and fines, as well as overturning Jones’ and Croom’s comeback wins to no contests, many fighters face similar repercussions to those who have tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs.
After Tuesday’s U.S. election day, recreational marijuana will now be legal in 15 states, with medical marijuana legalized in 36 states.
When asked if the UFC is working with the commission on evolving the stance on marijuana, White said it’s been a long process that’s still in the works.
“We’ve been working on that for a very long time; I’m surprised that actually happened,” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the Dana White Contender Series 34 post-fight news conference. “They must have been way over the threshold then. I don’t know.”
While White did express surprise by the punishments handed down Wednesday, he wouldn’t go so far as to say testing for marijuana while in competition should be banned. He believes there should be consequences for fighters who far exceed a certain limit.
“I don’t think you cannot not test,” White said. “When you’re in competition, you have to test these guys. You can’t let somebody go into the ring high. It just can’t happen. So I don’t know what to do with that. But, yeah, we’re trying to loosen it up, but at the same time you can’t have guys showing up high.”
