Fighters at UFC 298 have been reminded about marijuana drug testing and weight loss rules for the upcoming event in Anaheim, California.
The UFC informed the fighters about the marijuana drug testing and potential fines for exceeding the allowed limit. According to an email obtained by MMA Fighting, California State Athletic Commission regulations consider any positive drug test result above 150 ng/mL as over the limit.
Athletes who test above the threshold will face a fine of $100 by the committee. The memo warned fighters to immediately stop using marijuana to avoid exceeding the thresholds set by the California state commission.
The UFC also told fighters that testing would take place on either weigh-in or fight day, as per the commission’s standard practice for competitive testing.
Fighters competing in California were also informed about the commission’s 10-point plan to address dangerous weight loss practices.
Under this rule, the California State Commission may conduct remote weight testing of fighters up to 30 days after the event and before any subsequent event. Additionally, the commission will have a second weigh-in on the night of the event and fighters who gained more than 10 percent of their body weight plus 1 pound from the daytime weigh-in to the night of the event will be asked to weigh in again.
In other words, the commission may advise a fighter to move up a weight class based on the received information from the weight loss program, but there are no requirements to do so.
UFC 298 took place on February 17th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, with featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski defending his title against Ilya Topria in the main event.