It’s not an accusation that you hear often from UFC fighters, but Nick Diaz adamantly claims that welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is on steroids.
But does that carry any weight?
During an interview on Thursday with SportsNet 590 “The Fan,” Diaz boldly insinuated that his UFC 158 opponent was using performance enhancing drugs to gain an edge in his fights, with the hometown advantage of not being properly tested in Canada.
Even hosts Tim Micallef and Sid Seixeiro seemed surprised at the call-out:
Well, THAT just happened. @nickdiaz209 just told us he believes that GSP is “on plenty of steroids” and the @ufc won’t do anything about it. — Tim and Sid (@timandsid) March 14, 2013
Diaz went on to assume that neither he nor St-Pierre would be tested for drugs at all, despite anything that the UFC said to the contrary.
Typically, the UFC conducts its own drug tests when traveling outside the United States, also previous cards in Canada have seen the promotion contract third-party companies for that purpose—but as Diaz told SportsNet, St-Pierre may still have a secret weapon:
Sure, I believe [Georges St-Pierre] is on plenty of steroids and I don’t think they test around here, either. I doubt I’ll be tested, as well.
I don’t care what they’re saying or marketing to the media. I don’t think either of us are going to be tested. And if so, he’s probably got a bottle of piss in his pocket. I doubt they’re standing over him, making sure he’s not on steroids.
While those are certainly bold claims, it’s also not the first time that “Rush” has been accused of doping by a fellow UFC welterweight.
In the lead up to UFC 124, former contender Josh Koscheck also told the MMA media (via MMA Junkie) that GSP was on “steroids and Human Growth Hormone” (HGH), according to “hearsay” from other fighters and other camps.
For St-Pierre’s part, he supported Koscheck’s call for Olympic-level testing, stating that he himself was a natural athlete.
Ironically, Diaz also addressed questions about his own drug use, stating that he wouldn’t offer anything but an apology if he happened to fail his second consecutive test for marijuana metabolites:
Hell no, I’m not guaranteeing anything. Last time I was, I tested positive [for] nanograms [of marijuana]. I’m like two nanograms over.
So, what, I can tell you I did a little better than last time. So, if I don’t pass the test, I’m sorry, but I could probably use another year off for vacation.
Diaz has openly stated during media tours and press conferences that he believes the UFC is invested in him losing, and that he’s “sure” Dana White will be “pissed” at these recent doping accusations.
Both fighters have had an amazing war of words leading up to the fight, but they’ll look to settle their rivalry on Saturday during the main event of UFC 158.
St-Pierre will go into the match with the momentum of a recent win against former interim champion Carlos Condit, capping off a 10-fight winning streak with seven consecutive title defenses and zero positive drug tests.
Unfortunately for Diaz, the Stocktonian recently saw his own victory run come to an abrupt end last year. Not only was his 11-fight unbeaten streak snapped by a controversial decision loss to Condit at UFC 143, but Diaz also wound up benched for a year due to his positive drug test.
McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and tech writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld, PC World, 1UP, NVision, The Los Angeles Times, FightFans Radio, MMA Mania and Bleacher Report. Talk with him on Twitter.
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