The Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended UFC welterweight Nick Diaz for five years Monday after a positive marijuana test.
This is the third time that Diaz has been suspended for marijuana-related offenses, and the NSAC considered a lifetime ban for Diaz before unanimously voting on five years.
While five years is not a lifetime ban, it is essentially a career long ban for Diaz, 32.
Diaz (26-9) tested positive for marijuana metabolites after his Jan. 31 bout against Anderson Silva at UFC 183. He was also fined $165,000.
The fight result, originally a unanimous decision for Silva, was changed to a no-contest, after Silva failed multiple tests for anabolic steroids. Silva received a one-year ban and was fined $380,000.
A fighter being suspended for failing drug tests is not an uncommon occurrence. However, what makes Diaz’s case noteworthy lies in his unusually long ban and the controversial circumstances surrounding his test results.
Diaz had passed the first and last of three tests, but failed the second test, which was collected and analyzed by a different testing laboratory.
Lucas Middlebrook, Diaz’s lead attorney, called the ban “a completely arbitrary and capricious decision,” and said that they plan on appealing the decision.
During the hearing, Diaz repeated pleaded the fifth amendment. Speaking to media after the hearing, Diaz said, “I’m pretty pissed. I got into this sport for this exact reason, being stuck in a room with people like that.”
Diaz, an admitted medical-marijuana user in California, was previously suspended for six months in 2007 and one year in 2012 for marijuana-related violations, per ESPN.
Following his ban, Diaz has received overwhelming support on twitter from the MMA community, and an official White House petition has been created in his support.