Update: Nate Diaz has been indefinitely suspended by the UFC, according to reports from Bloody Elbow and MMA Junkie.
Bleacher Report MMA will have updates as news develops.
According to UFC president Dana White, it’s possible that UFC veteran Nate Diaz may lose his job over a series of Twitter messages that included a gay slur directed at Bryan Caraway.
As relayed by MMA Junkie’s John Morgan, White says that a punishment will come down for Diaz, and his Twitter rant could result in a pink slip:
Just received this from Dana White on Nate Diaz tweet: “He will be either fined and suspended or cut for that tweet.”
— John Morgan (@MMAjunkieJohn) May 16, 2013
On Thursday, the younger Diaz brother called Caraway “the biggest fag in the world” for accepting $65,000 originally given to Pat Healy—bonus money from UFC 159 that was revoked when the former Strikeforce lightweight tested positive for marijuana.
Not only did Healy lose out on $130,000 in “Fight of the Night” and “Submission of the Night” bonuses from his bout with Jim Miller, but Caraway—the only other fighter on the card with a submission win—was retroactively awarded the submission money.
Diaz is one of the longest-tenured fighters in the UFC today, having fought 18 of his 27 total career MMA bouts within the Octagon since 2007. In addition, he won The Ultimate Fighter 5 when he was 22 years old.
Over the years, Diaz has bounced between the lightweight and welterweight division in search of solid winning streaks and a title shot. Recently, he came up short against lightweight champion Benson Henderson at UFC on Fox 5.
Nate Diaz typically doesn’t cause the UFC nearly as much trouble as his older Nick Diaz, although he carries his older brother’s penchant for trash-talking opponents, making rude gestures during fights and generally cursing like a sailor.
Both Diaz brothers were also key players in the infamous brawl (via UFCwords) that took place at Strikeforce: Nashville in April 2010, where they attacked Jason “Mayhem” Miller after he interrupted Jake Shields’ post-fight interview to demand a rematch.
McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania & The L.A. Times.
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