Emanuel Newton lost the Bellator light heavyweight title at the end of February as Liam McGeary beat him by unanimous decision in the main event of Bellator 134.
Following the event, the Mohegan Department of Athletic Regulations announced that Newton tested positive for marijuana and had been suspended three months.
Newton (25-8-1) has been quite since the news of his positive drug test became public and he ended his silence in the most recent episode of the Loaded Joes MMA Podcast. “The Hardcore Kid” admitted to smoking marijuana just three days before his fight against McGeary and how “it was not very smart.”
“I tend to think on a different — I would say realm of consensus,” Newton said. “I do not train very hard. Obviously, every just saw that I just tested positive for marijuana after my last fight. I was smoking like three days out before that fight. It was not very smart and I though I had everything under control. It just goes to show that I can train two weeks for a fight, smoke weed, and still go out there and fight five rounds and still win fights.”
“I have learned from that and you can not take any man’s hard work. Especially with this Liam fight, my mind was just not in it. I just felt like had been doing too much on that other side of the spectrum as I like to say. Dwelling more on my spiritual side than on my physical side. Now I am going to make my way back over to the physical side. What got me to the belt was the hard training, perseverance, and discipline is what going to be back in place this next time around.”
One of the host of the podcast talked about how he gets away with drinking and doing a podcast. The light heavyweight fighter jumped in and explained how he got away with it for a little bit. In addition, admitted to smoking marijuana two weeks during training camp and not eating.
“It’s about doing what works for your job,” Newton explained. “My job is fighting, so I got a way with it for a little bit. I believe I was not going to grow anymore there so the universe told me to let’s go back — to the training and putting in that time. Granted, thing are still going to be easier for me I think than other fighters because of my mindset. The higher state of consensus I came into in that time when I was training for two weeks, smoking weed, and not eating. It made me much more powerful in my mind. Now that I can go back to what won me the championship and the hard training like everybody else does. I think it will definitely show more fruits and pay more dividends in my career.”
Newton is scheduled to come off suspension from the Mohegan Department of Athletic Regulations at the end of next month and his next fight has not been announced by Bellator. Newton told the podcast that he does not know when his next fight will take place, but was happy to see the addition of Phil Davis to the Bellator light heavyweight division.