The Nevada Athletic Commission has once again protected the sport from the ravages of the demon weed cannabis (scientific name Daemonium Viriditas). The latest fiend to fall prey to the notorious Grim Reefer is UFC welterweight Niko Price.
UFC fighters are subject to testing by both USADA year-round, and, once a bout contract is signed, also by the athletic commission regulating the event. Price fought Donald Cowboy Cerrone to a Majority Draw at UFC on ESPN+ 36 on September 19, at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, but tested positive for carboxy THC, a prohibited cannabinoid. He was suspended temporarily by the Nevada Athletic Commission, and at a virtual hearing on Wednesday his punishment was administered:
•Bout outcome was changed from a Draw to a No Contest;
•Fighter was suspended for six months, retroactive to the date of the depravity, so he will be eligible to fight again March 19, 2021; and,
•Fighter was fined $8,500, plus prosecution fees of $145.36.
This is Price’s second devilish dance with Dr. Greenthumb. At UFC Fight Night 104 on February 4, 2017, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, Price knocked out Alex Morono, but the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation caught him and:
•Changed the bout outcome to a No Contest;
•Suspended him for 90 days; and,
•Fined him $1,000.
Price is now rivaling Nick Diaz for flagrant violation of the laws of God and man. In 2015 the NAC suspended Diaz for five years after his third failure to control his need to sup on Sinner’s Spinach, and fined him $165,000, plus attorney’s fees and costs. That was of course an absurd injustice, and of course it was later substantially reduced after Diaz contested it.
Commissions tests for recreational drugs not in an attempt to catch lawbreakers (it’s no longer illegal in Nevada), but rather to make sure fighters are not high when they compete. However, given the ubiquity of short-notice fights, the varying length of time cannabis traces can remain in the system, the unknown effects of dehydration on the tests, and changing social mores around its use, the time to stop testing for it without reason is has arrived. The juice of catching a fighter who might be high to some extent is not worth the squeeze of repeatedly suspending and fining fighters who weren’t high and did nothing wrong. If a fighter shows signs of impairment, by all means test them for drugs and alcohol, and fine them heavily – no one should fight high on anything.
But if a fighter shows no signs of impairment, then no testing should be necessary.
