Ex-UFC Fighter Reveals He Was High on Psychedelics During Key PFL Fight

MMA veteran Tom Breese owns up to being high on shrooms in the PFL.

Jason Silva USA-TODAY Sports

In a surprising reveal, ex-UFC middleweight Tom Breese has owned up to competing while high on mushrooms during a pivotal bout in the PFL.

Breese (19-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC, 1-1 PFL) left the UFC after losing to Omari Akhmedov in 2021. He found relative success in KSW and then moved to PFL, where he traded a win and a loss before moving to the regional circuit.

The Birmingham, UK fighter has acknowledged that substance abuse may have affected his performance in his PFL Regular Season fight in April against former $1M tournament winner Rob Wilkinson.

"I was on drugs in the [Wilkinson] fight," Breese told Polish Fighters Info on November 5. "I was taking magic mushrooms; I was taking drugs all week. ... It was a rough time."

Breese lost by first-round TKO, ruining his chances at competing for the $1M prize. Since then, Breese has picked up a win in Levels Fight League and could be looking at a return to KSW or a debut in OKTAGON MMA.

Breese held a winning record in the UFC, only losing to high-profile fighters like Akhmedov, Brendan Allen, and Sean Strickland. His time in the promotion was cut short, likely due to the frequency of his cancellations. Overall, Breese had eight cancelled or rescheduled fights, four of which were caused by Breese and one of which was on a few hours' notice.

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