Former UFC veteran reveals he fought under the influence of drugs at event this year

Tom Breese is an MMA veteran. Photo: Cooper Neil/Getty Images.

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The MMA world was taken by surprise this Tuesday (5). In a surprising statement, the light heavyweight (up to 93 kg.) Tom Breese, admitted to having used drugs before facing Rob Wilkinson in the second edition of the PFL, in April of this year. On that occasion, the fighter was knocked out in the first round.

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“I was on drugs in the fight. I was on magic mushrooms. I was on drugs all week, honestly. It is what it is. It was a tough time,” the athlete told YouTube channel Polish Fighter Info.

Tom Breese was knocked out in 70 seconds by Rob Wilkinson in April. Photo: PFL.

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Despite the relaxed tone of the interview, Breese made it clear that problems related to the use of certain substances have been a problem in his career and personal life for a long time. A professional since 2010, the Englishman has more than 20 fights on his record.

“Obviously I had some ups and downs, but I’ve always been a very disciplined person and then I started letting some bad habits creep into my life. Smoking, some drugs, things like that. And that was the cause of a lot of those problems, to be honest. Now I’m back on track. I’m going to finish all my competition. I just had some problems with drugs,” said the fighter, who expressed his desire to fight in the Russian organization KSW.

It is important to highlight that PFL has a contract with used Since July 2023, a leading anti-doping company that carries out tests on athletes. However, the tests are not usually carried out with the aim of detecting the use of recreational drugs.

In the UFC

Tom Breese had a perfect start as a professional, coming out victorious in his first seven fights, all by fast track. With this success, he was signed by the UFC and made his debut in 2015, knocking out the Brazilian Luiz Besouro in the first round. However, he would end up being fired from the organization after abandoning the fight against Antonio Arroyo in 2021, due to medical reasons.

Breese has had nearly 10 fights in the UFC. Photo: Christopher Lee/UFC