UFC champ Ronda Rousey says marijuana testing is ‘invasion of privacy’
UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is firmly against marijuana testing in MMA.
Rousey is not outraged by any negative press in the wake of Jessica Eye becoming the first female UFC fighter to test positive for a banned substance. Rather, she feels the situation has brought to light an issue with drug testing in the sport.
Penalties for testing positive for marijuana vary among different sanctioning bodies that oversee the sport. But regardless of if the punishments are lenient or hefty, Rousey says this specific substance is irrelevant to competition and therefor shouldn’t be considered when drug testing takes place.
“Honestly I feel like weed is not a performance-enhancing drug at all,†Rousey told MMAjunkie. “We are tested for it for entirely political reasons. The athletic commission is there to make sure we compete fairly and they are testing us for something that has nothing to do with athletic competition.â€
Eye’s positive test added her name to a long list of fighters in the sport who have been flagged for the banned substance. The result of that test resulted in a probationary suspension, a fine and her UFC 166 victory over Sarah Kaufman being overturned to a no-decision.
While Rousey has previously spoken out against other banned substances in the sport, she feels marijuana shouldn’t be included in the discussion of performance-enhancing drugs and doesn’t intend to change her belief that it has no barring on MMA competition.
“It is beyond their rights [to test for marijuana],†Rousey said. “It’s actually an invasion of privacy.â€
Rousey (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) will next fight at UFC 170 on Feb. 22 when she puts her UFC women’s bantamweight championship on the line against Sara McMann (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) inside Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. The event is available for purchase on pay-per-view with preliminary-card action airing on FOX Sports 1 and streaming on UFC Fight Pass.
