(Pictured, from right to left: Mike Whitehead, Tim Sylvia, unidentified plant.)

According to multiple sources, former UFC fighter and “Ultimate Fighter” contestant Mike Whitehead is being sought by Las Vegas police on sexual assault and drug charges. And when we say drug charges, we aren’t talking about a half-smoked joint and a couple of Percocet in the ashtray of his car. We’re talking about a full-scale marijuana growing operation, with about $500,000 worth of plants. And that’s in addition to, you know, the sexual assault thing.

Las Vegas police reportedly went to Whitehead’s house in the first place because of the sexual assault allegations, but while there they discovered the stockpile of marijuana plants. At that point we can only assume that the investigating officers simultaneously dropped their flashlights, turned to one another with mouths agape, and exclaimed, ‘Dude.’

Now, we’re all for withholding judgment until all the facts are in. And for all we know, he might have just been holding half a million dollars worth of weed for a friend. It happens. But sexual assault? That’s the kind of charge that, if one cannot clear one’s name swiftly and completely, tends to leave a bit of a stain on the old reputation. No one wants to be friends with a guy who would commit sexual assault. The sad irony is, almost everyone wants to be friends with a guy who has a bunch of weed in his garage.

Let’s hope Whitehead has a good explanation for all this. If he doesn’t, he could be going away for a long, long time.