The UFC welterweight division can rest easier (at least until February) now that the Nevada State Athletic Commission has ruled on Nick Diaz‘s positive test for marijuana.
According to Damon Martin of MMA Weekly, the NSAC opted to slap Diaz with a one-year suspension retroactive to his fight with (and loss to) Carlos Condit on Feb. 4 and fine him 30 percent of his purse from that event.
That amounts to a penalty of approximately $60,000, given that he was paid $200,000 for his appearance at UFC 143, and reinstatement on Feb. 4, 2013.
The hefty length of Diaz’s suspension comes in response to his status as a multiple offender of the NSAC’s drug policy. Diaz tested positive for marijuana in 2007 after defeating Takanori Gomi in Pride Fighting Championships, a violation for which he was suspended six months and had the result changed to a “no contest.”
The NSAC’s latest punishment was preceded by a three-hour hearing, in which Diaz explained to the commission that he used marijuana as a means of treating his ADHD amid his training schedule and that his possession of a medical marijuana card made such activity legal in his home state of California.
Part of the NSAC’s decision stemmed from Diaz’s denial of such substance use on his pre-fight questionnaire.
Whether or not this punishment actually impacts Diaz’s career remains to be seen. He announced his retirement from mixed martial arts immediately after his loss to Condit and has yet to signal any change of heart thus far.
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