Dave Herman's UFC 153 Marijuana Suspension Includes Rehab Requirement
Stephan Bonnar and Dave Herman failed their drug tests following their respective bouts at UFC 153 on Oct. 13 in Brazil. Now, each has been handed down his suspension by UFC officials.
Since Brazil does not have a sanctioning body to oversee mixed martial arts, the UFC policed itself at UFC 153, hiring a third party company to administer drug testing. UFC 153 was held at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro.
Bonnar test positive for steroids and received a one-year suspension earlier this week, although he has already indicated that he is retired and will not fight again.
Herman – who test positive for marijuana – did not receive his suspension until Thursday.
Herman has been suspended for “six months from the day of the fight and must undergo and participate in an approved rehabilitation program, and have a clean drug test when the suspension is over, UFC vice president of regulatory affairs Marc Ratner told MMAWeekly.com.
While the UFC is forced to police itself in jurisdictions without a commission, such as Brazil, they did take Herman’s case a step further than most athletic commissions. Most commissions would likely have suspended Herman, but not necessarily added the requirement that he attend an approved rehab program.
Herman will be eligible to return from suspension, granted he meets all of the necessary requirements, on April 13, 2013.
Both Bonnar and Herman’s suspensions were reported to the Association of Boxing Commissions for addition to the ABC’s database that tracks official suspensions.
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