UFC's Nick Diaz Suspended Five Years For Positive Marijuana Test

Is Roger Goodell the commissioner of the Nevada State Athletic Commission?

UFC fighter Jonathan Diaz was given a five-year suspension Monday by the NSAC and fined $165,000 for failing a drug test due to traces of marijuana found in his system following his UFC 183 loss to Anderson Silva in January — Diaz’s third failed drug test involving marijuana.

Diaz was suspended six months in 2007 after testing positive for THC and for a year in 2012 when marijuana metabolites were found in a test following a loss to Carlos Condit.

But this case seems a bit different — and, frankly, a bit severe.

Diaz is openly a user of medical marijuana in California, where he trains. But he also passed two drug tests before and after his fight with Silva, according to ESPN. All three tests found levels of marijuana metabolites, but the third — conducted between the two he passed — found levels slightly higher, and enough to trigger the allowed limit

But based on one of the NSAC’s commissioner’s comments, the suspension appears to reflect more of a lack of respect from Diaz, who continues to use the drug.

There are several procedural points of emphasis Diaz’s lawyers seem to be contesting, but for the 32-year-old fighter, he simply doesn’t understand why this is such a big deal.

“I wanted to get up and say, ‘Look. You guys are way the f — out of line,'” Diaz told ESPN, referring to his meeting with the NSAC.

He doesn’t understand why marijuana is looked down upon, while steroids seemingly are glazed over.

“That’s ridiculous,” Diaz said. “I never did steroids in my life. I know all the fighters, they are all on steroids. All you m — f– are on steroids. I already know that. Everybody knows that. I’m the only person in this sport, for the most part, that ain’t on steroids. Now there’s new rules in effect, yeah, you’ve got guys not on steroids now, but they used to be. They’ve always been on steroids. I don’t do steroids. I don’t break the rules.”

For what it’s worth, it takes at least five failed marijuana tests within a two-year window for players to be suspended that long in Goodell’s NFL, while the fines are significantly lower than failed tests for other banned substances.