Leslie Smith supports Nick Diaz and will no longer fight in Nevada
UFC bantamweight Leslie Smith has declared that she will no longer fight in Nevada after the state athletic commission there suspended her teammate Nick Diaz for five years after he allegedly tested positive for marijuana following his fight in January.
Smith joins Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo, who released a statement via his manager saying that he would not fight in Nevada after the state essentially ended Diaz's fighting career with the five-year suspension.
"I am making a statement and will stand with my fellow fighters Nick Diaz, and Henry Cejudo and refuse to fight in Nevada while this draconian and arbitrary punishment against Nick is in place," Smith wrote on her Sqor account via Twitter on Thursday.
"This situation is just the latest example demonstrating the need for mixed martial artists to stand together, to influence our sport, and have our voices heard by speaking together as the mixed martial arts fighters association."
The Nevada Athletic Commission suspended Diaz after his third offense for testing positive for marijuana in the state. He was previously suspended for six months after his infraction in 2007 and then suspended for one year following a positive test in 2012.
Diaz and his attorney Lucas Middlebrook presented an aggressive defense in front of the commission on Monday while showcasing that two separate tests performed before and after his bout against Anderson Silva by a World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) laboratory showed that the welterweight was under the threshold for marijuana by the state's standards.
One separate test administered by Quest Diagnostics, a non WADA laboratory, showed Diaz testing positive at more than four times the legal limit. Despite the two separate tests disputing the evidence of the one lone test, the commission still opted to drop the hammer on Diaz for a five-year suspension and a $165,000 fine.
Smith has actually never competed in the state of Nevada during her 14-fight professional career and based on her statement released on Thursday it doesn't appear she ever will.
