"Drugs don't discriminate against race, gender or religion" - UFC lightweight mourns the loss of his friend due to drug overdose

UFC lightweight Jared Gordon has delivered a powerful message about the problem of drug abuse and its impact on society.

Drug addiction is one of the leading causes of preventable death and social problems around the world. Despite awareness campaigns and stringent policies, an overwhelmingly large number of lives are lost to drug addiction each year.

Gordon recently took to Twitter and announced that a young friend of his suffered an untimely death due to a drug overdose. The 34-year-old reminded everyone that the devastation of drug addiction knows no boundaries. He also appealed to people suffering from addiction to reach out to him for help.

“A friend of mine died last night. From an OD. Tall jacked good looking young kid. Drugs don’t discriminate against race, gender or religion. We’re all fair game against the disease of addiction. If anyone is suffering please reach out for help. I'm always here,” Jared Gordon Tweeted.

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Jared Gordon was ‘legally dead’ for two minutes due to a drug overdose

The professional hazard of being a cage fighter led Jared Gordon to become a drug addict in young adulthood. At age 19, Gordon was prescribed pain medication to deal with an injury. He soon got addicted to drugs and became a heroin addict by age 21.

However, he went into rehab and managed to get sober. But another encounter with pain medication pushed Gordon back into the dark world of drug addiction. He went through several overdose incidents and was even declared legally dead during one of those instances.

Almost a decade later, Jared Gordon is living a life free from every form of addiction.

"I overdosed three times. I was facing 25 years to life at one point. I've been homeless, panhandling, I've been to psych wards. I've been to rehab 10 times, and I've had near-death situations. At this point, I just consider myself grateful and extremely lucky and blessed to be where I am," Gordon told Fox Sports in a 2017 interview.

Jared Gordon has done well professionally. He is considered among the talented mid-tier fighters in the UFC’s stacked lightweight division. The 34-year-old is coming off a no contest in his most recent fight against Bobby Green. Before the Green fight, Gordon had a closely contested fight against British star Paddy Pimblett at UFC 282 in December 2022.

Although ‘Flash’ lost the fight via unanimous decision, the result was furiously contested in the MMA community. He was expected to fight MMA legend Jim Miller on June 2. However, Gordon pulled out of the fight due to a concussion sustained in the Bobby Green fight.