NICK DIAZ SUSPENSION REDUCED TO 18 MONTHS
By MMAJunkie
Las Vegas, NV (January 12, 2015)– The Nevada State Athletic Commission today moved quickly to approve a settlement with suspended UFC welterweight Nick Diaz, voting unanimously to reduce the onetime title challenger’s five-year suspension to 18 months with a $100,000 fine.
Diaz’s suspension runs retroactively to his Jan. 31, 2015 fight with Anderson Silva at UFC 183, which produced the positive test that resulted in his third suspension with the NSAC. He is eligible to fight Aug. 1.
The NSAC announced its unanimous vote on the settlement today during a meeting in Las Vegas. The five-member commission did not deliberate on the matter and didn’t discuss any portion of the settlement before approving it. Diaz was not present at the meeting, nor was his counsel from Las Vegas firm Campbell and Williams, which frequently represents the UFC in litigation.
This past September the NSAC suspended Diaz for five years and fined him $165,000 for failing a third drug test in the state. All three of his infractions have been for marijuana, most recently following the UFC 183 loss to Silva. (Silva failed tests for steroids at the same event and was suspended for one year, and the official result is now a no-contest.) However, there were serious doubts about the accuracy of Diaz’s latest test.
In the weeks following the initial NSAC ruling, Diaz posted on his official Instagram account and said his legal team has been working with the NSAC, and the talks were “going well,” hinting a reduction in punishment could be in his future.
The MMA community showed overwhelming support for Diaz after his penalty was handed down – at least insomuch that the consensus was the punishment didn’t fit the crime.
Many fighters rallied behind Diaz, whose reputation as one of the “bad boys” of MMA probably didn’t help his case in front of the NSAC in September. In addition, a White House petition to lift the five-year ban hit more than 100,000 signatures, which was the threshold required for an official White House comment.
Diaz’s petition was also championed by his former opponent, ex-welterweight titleholder Georges St-Pierre, as well as several celebrities, from comedian Katt Williams to musicians Wiz Khalifa and Cher.
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