Nick Diaz Facing Potential Anti-Doping Violation for Trio of Whereabouts Failures
Former UFC welterweight title challenger Nick Diaz has been flagged for a potential anti-doping violation for failing to disclose his location on three separate occasions within 12 months.
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The UFC organization has been notified that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Nick Diaz of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from Diaz’s alleged accumulation of three Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period. Diaz, like all other UFC athletes, is enrolled in USADA’s UFC Registered Testing Pool and required to file accurate Whereabouts information in order to be located for out-of-competition, no-notice testing.
USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy,
will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of
Diaz’s case, who has been provisionally suspended pending the final
resolution of this matter. Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there
is a full and fair legal process that is afforded to all athletes
before any sanctions are imposed. Additional information will be
provided at the appropriate time as the process moves
forward.
Diaz hasn’t competed in the Octagon since a decision loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 183 on Jan. 31, 2015. The bout was changed to a no contest after Silva failed both a pre- and post-fight drug tests. Meanwhile, Diaz tested positive for marijuana after the fight — his third failed test in Nevada — and was initially handed a five-year suspension and $165,000 fine.
The sanction prompted outrage in the MMA community and an online petition to get the ruling overturned garnered more than 100,000 signatures. Eventually, Diaz reached a settlement with the Nevada Athletic Commission to have his suspension reduced to 18 months and his fine to $100,000.
Diaz’s suspension officially ended in August 2016, but he was not cleared to compete and corner in Nevada until he reached a payment plan with the Attorney General this past December. However, Diaz has yet to be booked in the Octagon, and for now, it doesn’t appear that he has any interest in fighting.
“I don’t think Nick Diaz will ever fight again,” UFC President Dana White recently told MMAjunkie.com. “I just don’t think he has the desire anymore.
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