Nick Diaz slams Nevada State Athletic Commission after five-year ban
After sitting idly before the Nevada State Athletic Commission for more than three hours and pleading the Fifth Amendment to questions directed at him, Nick Diaz no longer could hold back his feelings about the commission's judgment toward him.
Diaz was hit with a five-year ban and a $165,000 fine, and is required to pay the state for costs it incurred after he allegedly tested positive for marijuana metabolites at UFC 183. Once the hearing wrapped, Diaz ranted about his extreme punishment to reporters.
"Bottom line is ... these guys are legally trying to rob me, robbing other fighters. I became a fighter so I don't gotta rob nobody," Diaz told FOX Sports.
"I want to tell them what I think," Diaz added. "I want to tell every one of them that they're a bunch of dorks. Anybody who sees them or knows who they are should tell them that right to their face, because I would. If it wasn't for my experts over here — they advised me to keep my mouth shut, so I kept my mouth shut. I wanted to just get up and tell them all like 'Look, you guys are way the f*** out of line. You guys have been trying to hold me down from day one.'
"That's pretty much this whole sport has been trying to keep me from where I belong, and that's the number one position. I'm the biggest draw. I'm the best fighter. I've been fighting for longer. I've been throwing more punches than everybody in the sport. I'm going to dodge more punches than everyone in this sport. And that's the bottom line. That's what's really going on. We got a whole system trying to hold me down."
Diaz's lawyer Lucas Middlebrook confirmed to FOX Sports that they plan to appeal the ruling. They will submit a petition for judicial review which has to be filed within 30 days. They expect the process to get rolling 60 to 90 days from the day the petition is filed.
"It was a completely arbitrary and capricious decision," Middlebrook said. "You heard in my opening statement that based on the facts, that if they were to make a decision, that it would be ripe for judicial review.
"The reason Nick didn't testify is because we're not getting an impartial hearing," Middlebrook continued. "This isn't fair. This is a kangaroo court. And you heard the commissioner's decision was not based on the facts, it wasn't based on the evidence. One commissioner says, 'Your attorneys were very persuasive, but you don't respect us so here's a five-year ban and a ton of money that we're going to take back.' And the commission even misinterpreted their own regulations regarding the Fifth Amendment. So we plan to address that with a court with competent jurisdiction and we're confident that they'll see the errors of the commission's ways."
In regards to the case, Middlebrook added that it is highly unusual for three separate drug tests to be taken from one fighter on the same day, for those tests to be sent to different labs, and to be collected under different protocols.
At UFC 183, Diaz was tested at 7:12 p.m., 10:38 p.m. and 11:55 p.m. The two results that were collected by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited lab, Sports Medicine Research & Testing Laboratory (SMRTL), showed Diaz was under the allowed threshold for marijuana metabolites of 150 ng/ML. The third test, which was executed by the non-WADA accredited Quest Lab, produced a positive result of more than 700 ng/ML.
Diaz is confident that he'll be back to doing "high-profile fights" in a year. In the meantime, he may teach jiu-jitsu classes to stay busy. However, the Stockton, Calif.-based fighter expressed disappointment that he may not be allowed to corner his brother when Nate Diaz faces Michael Johnson at UFC Fight Night: Dos Anjos vs. Cerrone.
"They've deprived me of not just of money now, but the right to stand up for not only what I believe in, but for my little brother. I can't even go and help my little brother."
As for the extent of the commission's punishment, slapping him with the maximum allowable fine and lengthy ban, Diaz slammed them for being biased toward him.
"That's crazy because I didn't test positive. I didn't. If you guys listened in the hearing, if you actually listened to the facts and everything, I didn't test positive.
"And these guys, they're a bunch of dorks," Diaz continued. "They hate to see it. They hate to see it happen. They can't beat me in a fight, so they pull me in their dork court and they're like trying to take all my money, and sit and decide, and point the finger at me like I'm the bad guy ... they know it's wrong."
On Jan. 31, Diaz lost a decision to Anderson Silva which has been overturned to a no-contest due to the post-fight test results. Silva sat before the commission last month after testing positive for steroids and other substances. The former middleweight champion was suspended for only one year for his infractions.
"That's ridiculous," Diaz said. "I've never done steroids in my life. That's another thing I'll tell you. I know all the fighters and they are all on steroids. All you mother f***ers are on steroids. All you mother f***ers, all of you 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 these new rules are in effect. You got guys, they're not on steroids right now, but they used to be. They've always been on steroids. I don't do steroids. I don't break the rules, and I didn't break the rules now. I tested under and my old test was, I'm pretty sure, under the limits too."
