UFC Fight Night 108: Diego Sanchez blames medical marijuana for recent heart problems

Medical marijuana is not for everybody.

And Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight contender, Diego Sanchez, found that out the hard way, as he says his recent heart problems are due to his choice to experiment with it.

During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Diego talked about a scare he suffered during a recent training session with Jon Jones at Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico, one that led him to believe his fight career was going to be over, and perhaps even his life.

"I hit the ground, and I felt something inside my heart," he recalled. "It wasn't like a muscular injury. It was something internal ... I just laid down and said, 'I'm done for the week,” said Diego as transcribed by Bleacher Report. "The moment I laid down at the back of [that gym], I instantly knew it was because of that medical marijuana."

Diego obtained a medical marijuana license last November and admits he was high during the training session.

"Whatever happened, it was serious," Sanchez said. "I could feel something going on, and I was very, very terrified that if I got my heart rate back up that I could, like, die or something."

Some simply have a stronger threshold for Mary Jane.

Sanchez opted to pray and fast instead of seeking medical attention, despite the fact that the pain was ongoing for a few days. After finally breaking down and visiting a doctor, he was informed that it was a muscular injury and that his heart was perfect.

Still, despite the diagnosis, you won’t convince Diego that it wasn’t a heart problem and that his recovery was all a “miracle.” That said, Sanchez came to the realization that medical marijuana simply wasn’t for him.

"My lungs were being affected," he said. "And I still had the mentality to train like a warrior, so when [the heart issue] happened to me, that day at the gym, I was still experimenting with medical marijuana. ... I did it, and I loved it, and I got my medicinal medicine. I'm not judging. I'm saying that medical marijuana is not for everybody, and it's not for me."

Sanchez -- who now goes by the name of “Lionheart,” through no coincidence, I’m sure — will look for his second straight win when he takes on Al Iaquinta at this weekend’s (Sat., April 22, 2017) UFC Fight Night 108 event in Nashville, Tennessee.

For much more on that event click here.