These martial artists have touted cannabis for excellence
12 boxers, wrestlers, and MMA fighters who trust CBD and THC-infused products for their training, recovery, and business ventures.
Fight fans enjoy every punch, kick and takedown from their seats. But have you ever wondered how these fighters train for and recover from such brutal physical punishment?
Painkillers have dominated high-contact sports like mixed martial arts (MMA), wrestling, and soccer for years. But a handful of modern day gladiators are now going all in on weed as an alternative to prescription drugs.
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For example, many fighters use CBD, a cannabinoid found in weed that doesn’t cause any noticeable psychoactive effects. That’s because CBD is legal in many places, while THC-infused cannabis is not.
So which professional fighters are pioneers, entrepreneurs and proud users? Here are 12 of the most notable cannabis advocates from the martial arts world.
Buster Douglas
Buster Douglas made history in 1990 when he defeated heavyweight champion Mike Tyson despite long odds.
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After 18 years as a professional fighter, Douglas continues to struggle with ongoing pain and discomfort. Now the 61-year-old champion has admitted to using CBD and endorses products for the Ohio-based CBD Health Coalition. Through the partnership, Douglas has a signature line of premium CBD products.
Nate and Nick Diaz
This week, MMA legend Nate Diaz said he plans to retire from a legendary career as a professional fighter. In 2016, Diaz drank a CBD vape at a post-fight press conference and declared, “CBD – it helps with healing and inflammation.” In 2019, he did it again.
Nate’s brother Nick almost lost his career in 2015 due to a failed THC test. For years before that, he relied on the old “drink ten pounds of water and sweat it out” method to pass tests.
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Now, the Diaz brothers’ cannabis brand, Game Up, offers oils and tinctures, as well as pre-rolls. With the UFC’s recent increase in the THC limit, Nate felt comfortable beating his THC-infused Kill_4209 strain at a pre-fight weigh-in in 2021. He did it again earlier this year in front of a US Doping Agency tester.
Elias Theodorou
This week Theodorou died of cancer at the age of 34. The Canadian-born trailblazer won the UFC reality TV series Ultimate Fighter in 2014 and made history as the first fighter to receive a medicinal cannabis use exemption (TUE) from the United States Anti-Disease Agency-Doping Agency. In 2021, he won his first TUE fight, eventually averaging a 19-3 record in the ring before dying prematurely.
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Evan Holyfield
The son of heavyweight boxing legend Evander Holyfield, he’s building a reputation in the ring and beyond. Not only has he beat opponents, he has also joined the long list of fighters who proudly use CBD products as part of their pre and post fight routines.
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Evan also has a sponsorship deal with The Georgia Hemp Company and currently has nine wins and one loss as a pro.
Anthony Joshua
The British boxer is a two-time world champion and firmly believes in the power of CBD. Joshua is a shareholder in UK-based company Love Hemp. Love Hemp is a sponsor of the UFC, and Joshua serves as the voice for the brand and the face of its own signature CBD line.
Rico flair
The Ric Flair Drip cannabis line was launched in August with help from Verano and Mike Tyson’s Tyson 2.0 company. The line includes flowers, oils and more and will be available through Verano. In April, Flair tweeted, “So excited to enter the world of cannabis! Wooooo!”
“Later in life I discovered the benefits of cannabis and was blown away by how much it helped uplift the mind and heal the body. Alongside TYSON 2.0, I am committed to sharing these amazing benefits with as many consumers as possible.”
Ric Flair via press release
Shannon Briggs
From the late 1990s through the mid-2000s, Shannon Briggs was a household name among boxing fans and one of the hardest punchers in the sport. The Brooklyn-born fighter is a two-time world heavyweight champion and is still in fighting form decades after his peak. While training for his comeback to professional fighting in 2014, Briggs was open to using CBD to fuel his return. He also released his own strain, Cali Plug, in 2020.
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Kamaru Usman
The Nigerian-born mixed martial artist is the current UFC welterweight champion and arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in his sport. He is also a vocal supporter of CBD and a brand ambassador for Anthony Joshua’s Love Hemp brand.
Chris Algiers
When former WBO Champion Chris Algieri was asked by FOX Business host Stuart Varney in 2019 if he would use CBD, Algieri replied, “I would, and I have.” While not a proponent of THC, Algieri believes it that CBD helps athletes perform better by healing inflammation.
mike tyson
Iron Mike has several cannabis ventures including the Tyson Holistic line, the Tyson 2.0 brand, a 420-friendly ranch resort, and a weed-themed podcast.
Some of his products are banned in Colorado and parts of Canada because of his celebrity likeness. But CHILL, a company that makes alkaline CBD water, is one of the more cautious investments in its multi-layered cannabis empire.
Tyson believes CBD can help fight opiate addiction, telling The Daily Star: “I’ve been struggling for over 20 years and my body is taking a toll… I’ve had two surgeries and I’ve used marijuana to calm my nerves. and it would take the pain away… But before that, they put me on these opiates, and these opiates totally screwed me up.”
Tyson also says cannabis and magic mushrooms brought him closer to God after a traumatic childhood and a deeply troubled life in the spotlight.
Arnold Barbosa
Undefeated super lightweight Arnold Barboza Jr. has knocked out many opponents. But when it comes to eliminating pain, he turns to Brains Pure CBD, a British brand. Barboza claims, “CBD is the future of recovery.”
mike lee
Former boxer Mike Lee was fed up with all the drugs he was prescribed for an autoimmune disease. After researching alternative medicines, he found CBD.
Lee now shares his love of CBD with others through Soul CBD, a company he co-founded with his wife, Angie. Offering everything from oils to bath bombs, Soul CBD offers therapeutic benefits for clients from all walks of life.
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soft king
Mehka King has spent his professional career as a journalist and content creator. Since 2017 he has interviewed cannabis activists, politicians, business leaders, athletes and entertainers about their views on cannabis for the network CashColorCannabis.com.
Check out Mehka King’s articles
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