Emanuel Newton tested positive for marijuana following Bellator 134. | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
Ex-light heavyweight champion Emanuel Newton tested positive for marijuana following his loss to Liam McGeary at Bellator 134.
As a result, Newton was suspended 90 days and fined $3,000 due to the Mohegan commission’s zero tolerance policy on marijuana. He must submit a clean drug test in order to reapply for a license.
According to Mazzulli, a fighter can apply for a therapeutic use exemption for medical marijuana, but Newton did not submit such an application. Three other fighters – McGeary, Brennan Ward and Josh Diekmann – were also tested for drugs of abuse, masking agents and steroids. All three came back clean.
Newton lost the 205-pound strap in a five-round unanimous decision defeat to McGeary in the Bellator 134 headliner last month. That defeat ended a seven-fight winning streak under the Bellator banner for “The Hardcore Kid.”