Former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz isn’t overly concerned about his pending DUI case stemming from an arrest in September, calling the situation a “big misunderstanding” between him and a notoriously tough police department.
After the UFC’s Time is Now press conference on Monday, Diaz briefly addressed his encounter with Lodi, California’s finest, per Marc Raimondi of Fox Sports.
Where I live, everybody knows how it is in Lodi. You can’t even drive through town at the wrong hours without getting stopped. I was just having a real bad night. I wasn’t really getting along with the officer very well. There’s a lot to that story that people don’t understand. I haven’t really been having a lot to say about it. It’s not a big deal to me. It is a big deal, of course, but there’s a lot to the story that people don’t understand. … I’m not their favorite, I guess.
As the Lodi News-Sentinel originally reported in September, Diaz was arrested by Lodi police on September 6 on suspicion of DUI, obstructing a police officer and driving with a suspended license.
Diaz was described as being polite during the ordeal though he allegedly made himself vomit in the bathroom of the Lodi City Jail, netting him the obstruction charge, according to the report.
“The Stockton Bad Boy” was hit with similar charges in a November 2013 arrest in Lodi, where he was charged with DUI, DUI with an alcohol or drug level above .08 and unsafe speed for prevailing conditions, also per Fox Sports.
The Cesar Gracie Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt retired from mixed martial arts after a failed title bid against Georges St-Pierre at UFC 158 in March 2013 though finally signed a three-fight deal with the UFC in July, per MMA Junkie.
Shortly afterwards, it was announced that Diaz would fight former longtime UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva at UFC 183 on January 31.
The matchup, Diaz’s first bout at 185 pounds, will headline the pay-per-view event, which takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
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