Journey Newson isn’t going to challenge his marijuana suspension – but that doesn’t mean he thinks it makes sense.
A UFC bantamweight, Newson (9-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) picked up his first promotional victory with a powerful 38-second knockout of Domingo Pilarte at UFC 247 in February.
The official decision, however, was short-lived. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation overturned the win to a no contest after Newson showed levels of marijuana in his system that exceeded the state’s regulatory limit. Additionally, Newson was suspended 30 days.
“I was kind of surprised, but yeah, there’s nothing I can do about it,” Newson recently told MMA Junkie. “It already happened. It really doesn’t matter too much to me. I’m not about my record. I’m not trying to focus on a perfect record or anything. I’m just trying to make a good living out of this and build my assets off of it.
“It’s not like I was down in town smoking up and down town. I took two weeks off from smoking. With the weight cut and everything, I figured it would all be out of my system by then. It wasn’t. We ended up getting popped for it. It’s fine. It happens.”
As a result of his UFC 247 experience, Newson said it’s unlikely he accepts another fight in Texas. He’s already informed his manager, Jason House, such.
“I told my manager that I probably won’t fight in Texas because of it,” Newson said. “Their laws are pretty stupid and they’re pretty slow. We have a lot of states here, especially my state here in Oregon, that are legalizing weed. The fact that they’re still sitting back and they have all these prohibitions on it, it kind of sucks.”
Relatively laid back about the situation, Newson can’t wrap his mind around one thing. How does marijuana improve his performance inside the cage? If it doesn’t enhance his abilities, why is marijuana detection a suspendible offense?
“I’m not real sure how this boosts my performance,” Newson said. “I’m not quite sure how this really boosts my performance. I’d like to talk to someone or if you know anything, about how (marijuana) boosts your performance. It just doesn’t make any sense.”
While Newson thinks the Texas commission’s way of handling marijuana is outdated, he sees his failure and suspension as a blessing in disguise. The loss could’ve been much worse had he been awarded a $50,000 performance bonus, had his suspension come at a time other than a global pandemic, or had he not received a medical suspension overlapping his drug suspension.
“We’re kind of at a pause right now,” Newson said. “Days are just kind of going and going and going. This is good for me. I was already suspended because of the jaw injury. I had a fracture up here, so I was suspended for that. Now that the days are going and we’re taking a pause, it definitely is (a) blessing in disguise that I’m sitting here on a three-month suspension.”
Check out MMA Junkie’s full interview with Newson in the video below.
Journey Newson: UFC 247 marijuana suspension is a 'blessing in disguise,' though Texas rule outdated
