Tuesday afternoon, news broke that Lightweight Pat Healy had popped for marijuana on his post-fight drug test at UFC 159. Healy put on a career defining performance to upset Jim Miller with a third round submission and earn both the Submission and Fight of the Night awards adding up to $130K. Unfortunately for Pat, when the result was turned to a no-contest, he also lost his bonus money.
UFC president Dana White announced Wednesday on Twitter that the Submission of the Night bonus would be retroactively awarded to Bryan Caraway. The TUF 14 alum had an impressive performance of his own that ended in a guillotine choke of Johnny Bedford with only 16 seconds left in the fight. Caraway gave MMA Junkie his reaction to receiving his bonus check and Healy's failed test:
I couldn't be more happy, and it was an insanely pleasant surprise
All I've got to say is that's some expensive weed. I like Healy a lot. I came up through the fighting ranks with him. We used to train together at Team Quest. I love the guy. But I have absolutely zero remorse or guilt.
I hate weed. I cannot stand it. I've never tried it. I've never smoked a drug in my life. So I have absolutely zero tolerance for people that do it. I don't care if it's legal in some places or not. I think it's absolutely ridiculous. Whether it's legal in real life or not, they tell you to follow the rules. You need to follow the rules.
Caraway has some sort of point that Healy knew the rules and there's not a lot to excuse his violating them. However, it's really hard for me rationalize him losing $130K and having a career-defining win taken away, when Vitor Belfort is about fight with a commission-approved testosterone exemption.