Tag: NAC

[ARCHIVES] Nick Diaz White House Petition Reaches 100,000 Signatures

[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED OCTOBER 14, 2015, 3:18 PM] It came down to the wire, but the WhiteHouse.gov petition to lift the Nevada Athletic Commission’s five year suspension of Nick Diaz has reached the needed 100,000 signatures. Lots of petitions get started, but few reach that threshold and get an official response from President Barack Obama’s administration. […]

Continue Reading [ARCHIVES] Nick Diaz White House Petition Reaches 100,000 Signatures at MMA News.

[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED OCTOBER 14, 2015, 3:18 PM]

It came down to the wire, but the WhiteHouse.gov petition to lift the Nevada Athletic Commission’s five year suspension of Nick Diaz has reached the needed 100,000 signatures. Lots of petitions get started, but few reach that threshold and get an official response from President Barack Obama’s administration. Bloody Elbow had projected that the petition would fall short, but a late search thanks to a social media push from a number of name fighters pushed it past 110,000.

So, what does this mean? According to the White House petitions site:

The right to petition your government is guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. We the People provides a new way to petition the Obama Administration to take action on a range of important issues facing our country. We created We the People because we want to hear from you. If a petition gets enough support, White House staff will review it, ensure it’s sent to the appropriate policy experts, and issue an official response.

What do these responses look like? Generally, if the White House can’t do anything or doesn’t want to make a big stink, they won’t. Some petitions, like recognizing the Ku Klux Klan as domestic terrorists, led to responses that amounted to “we already do that.”

So this probably means nothing, but it’s still interesting to track.

Continue Reading [ARCHIVES] Nick Diaz White House Petition Reaches 100,000 Signatures at MMA News.

Kevin Croom, Multiple DWCS Competitors Receive NAC Suspensions

Kevin CroomComing off a big first-round submission victory in September, it appears Kevin Croom is going to have to wait a bit before he can have his next fight. The UFC lightweight stepped up on one day’s notice to face Roosevelt Roberts. Croom walked away with a 31-second submission win and a $50,000 “Performance of the […]

Kevin Croom

Coming off a big first-round submission victory in September, it appears Kevin Croom is going to have to wait a bit before he can have his next fight.

The UFC lightweight stepped up on one day’s notice to face Roosevelt Roberts. Croom walked away with a 31-second submission win and a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus. However, “The Hard-Hitting Hillbilly” was subsequently flagged for the presence of marijuana in a pre-fight drug screen. During the Nevada Athletic Commission’s monthly meeting – which was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic – Croom reached an agreement with the NAC which included a reduced $1,800 fine and a four-and-a-half month suspension, which is set to expire on January 26, 2021. He also agreed to pay prosecution fees totaling $145.36, per MMA Junkie.

Dana White‘s Contenders Series competitor Jose Flores also received a four-and-a-half month suspension for marijuana. Flores faced Jordan Leavitt in the first fight of the series fourth season. Flores was submitted in the first round of a performance that earned Leavitt a UFC contract. His suspension will come to an end December 4. He accepted a reduced fine of $750 and $145.36 in prosecution fees.

Heavyweight Chad Johnson, who saw his DWCS 29 opponent Josh Parisian receive a UFC contract after knocking him out in the first round, was issued a nine-month suspension for a banned amphetamine. He will now have to wait until May 18 2021 to fight again. He was fined $750 and must pay $145.36 in prosecution fees.

Also of note, UFC welterweight Niko Price had his suspension extended after testing positive for carboxy THC, a banned cannabinoid. The positive test came after his September 19 clash against Donald Cerrone, which saw the fight end in a majority draw. the issue is expected to be resolved in December.

Lastly, middleweight Joe Pyfer, who competed on the August 11 edition of the series, was granted a continuance to a later date after testing positive for modulator metabolites. The DWCS 28 fight saw Pyfer have his arm broken on a slam by Dustin Stoltzfus, who would walk away with a UFC contract.

Do you think Kevin Croom and other fighters should be suspended for marijuana use? Let us know!

NAC Director Comments On UFC 209 Main Event Judging

UFC 209 went down last night (Sat., March 4, 2017) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the main event featured a welterweight title rematch between Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson. Woodley ended up retaining his title via majority decision, but it was a controversial outcome at best, especially given the fact that

The post NAC Director Comments On UFC 209 Main Event Judging appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

UFC 209 went down last night (Sat., March 4, 2017) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the main event featured a welterweight title rematch between Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson. Woodley ended up retaining his title via majority decision, but it was a controversial outcome at best, especially given the fact that one judge scored the fight a draw.

Commenting on the decision, Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) director Bob Bennett implied that judges should be able to decide on a winner:

“If you’re a top-notch, A-plus judge, you should be able to discern through the scoring criteria who wins the fight, even if it’s razor thin,” Bennett said (Via MMAFighting). “Does a 10-10 round come up? Yes, but in the three years — almost three years — that I’ve been the executive director, we have not had a 10-10 round. And I think it’s incumbent upon the judges to be on top of their game and be able to pick a winner in that round. One effective strike or kick can determine who wins a round.”

The judge who scored the bout a draw was Sal D’Amato and he also scored the final round a 10-8 for Woodley, which Bennett didn’t agree with:

“The one judge that had it 10-8 — we went over it in the debriefing — and that 10-8 was unacceptable,” Bennett said. “Not that it would have affected the outcome of the fight, but just to share it with you. We strive to do the best we can, but we don’t always succeed and that judge should have scored that round 10-9.

“He just missed it and usually he’s spot on. But thank god it didn’t affect the overall outcome of the fight.”

Who did you score the fight for?

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Jake Ellenberger’s TUF 24 Finale Appeal Dismissed by NAC

jake-ellenberger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM21dN9HTwg

Jake Ellenberger suffered a TKO loss at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 24 Finale in bizarre fashion. The veteran welterweight bruiser took on Jorge Masvidal inside the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. During the fight, “The Juggernaut” pushed forward, but somehow got his foot stuck between the canvas and the bottom of the fence.

Masvidal teed off on Ellenberger and referee Herb Dean halted the bout for a timeout. That timeout ended up being the end of the fight as there was no rule stating a fight can be temporarily halted due to a cage malfunction. As a result, Masvidal was awarded with a TKO win.

Ellenberger appealed the outcome, but it fell on deaf ears. The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NAC) dismissed the appeal (via The MMA Underground). Here’s what Executive Director Bob Bennett had to say regarding the NAC’s dismissal:

“There is no provision in NAC 467 that prevents referees from calling a timeout to consult with other officials prior to rendering a decision. NAC 467 does not include a provision that requires the continuation of contests in such circumstances. Alleged precedent does not provide grounds for a change of a referee’s decision.”

It’s a tough break for Ellenberger, who hasn’t been able to replicate the success he had during his six-fight winning streak from early 2010 through early 2012. He’s gone 2-6 in his last eight bouts and has been finished four times in that span.

“The Juggernaut” had been briefly cut by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in March 2016. Ellenberger was able to convince UFC President Dana White to keep his job. He was given another chance and made the most of it by knocking out Matt Brown at UFC 201. It was his first win since Feb. 2015 against Josh Koscheck.

It’ll be interesting to see if the result of Ellenberger’s last fight will send him packing for good.

jake-ellenberger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM21dN9HTwg

Jake Ellenberger suffered a TKO loss at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 24 Finale in bizarre fashion. The veteran welterweight bruiser took on Jorge Masvidal inside the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. During the fight, “The Juggernaut” pushed forward, but somehow got his foot stuck between the canvas and the bottom of the fence.

Masvidal teed off on Ellenberger and referee Herb Dean halted the bout for a timeout. That timeout ended up being the end of the fight as there was no rule stating a fight can be temporarily halted due to a cage malfunction. As a result, Masvidal was awarded with a TKO win.

Ellenberger appealed the outcome, but it fell on deaf ears. The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NAC) dismissed the appeal (via The MMA Underground). Here’s what Executive Director Bob Bennett had to say regarding the NAC’s dismissal:

“There is no provision in NAC 467 that prevents referees from calling a timeout to consult with other officials prior to rendering a decision. NAC 467 does not include a provision that requires the continuation of contests in such circumstances. Alleged precedent does not provide grounds for a change of a referee’s decision.”

It’s a tough break for Ellenberger, who hasn’t been able to replicate the success he had during his six-fight winning streak from early 2010 through early 2012. He’s gone 2-6 in his last eight bouts and has been finished four times in that span.

“The Juggernaut” had been briefly cut by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in March 2016. Ellenberger was able to convince UFC President Dana White to keep his job. He was given another chance and made the most of it by knocking out Matt Brown at UFC 201. It was his first win since Feb. 2015 against Josh Koscheck.

It’ll be interesting to see if the result of Ellenberger’s last fight will send him packing for good.

Nick Diaz Free to Fight or Corner Again in Nevada After Reaching Agreement

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM8CicJZk-Y

Free at last.

While Nick Diaz’s negotiated 18 month suspension (for testing positive for marijuana in-competition when he fought Anderson Silva) was up in the Summer, he had yet to be cleared to be re-l…

nick-diaz-mma-live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM8CicJZk-Y

Free at last.

While Nick Diaz’s negotiated 18 month suspension (for testing positive for marijuana in-competition when he fought Anderson Silva) was up in the Summer, he had yet to be cleared to be re-licensed by the state of Nevada. That’s because he had yet to pay what he owed on his fine, and it led to him being unable to corner his brother Nate at UFC 202 in August in Las Vegas. Officially, Nick had a December 1st deadline, and whether or not he made it just in time is unclear, but per MMAFighting, he’s officially able to be licensed again.

Ariel Helwani noted in the MMAFighting report that it wasn’t explicit if Diaz would suffer any consequences if he settled up after the deadline. That it took a week into December before we heard about this definitely makes you wonder if he paid late, but regardless, that doesn’t really matter anymore. Diaz has no fights booked, though, which is not exactly shocking since he’s fought irregularly in recent years, living in large part off the money he made from fighting Georges St-Pierre. That said, even if he’s not planning on fighting, at least he can corner his brother and other teammates again.

Commissioner Who Reprimanded Nick Diaz & Conor McGregor Won’t Be Re-Appointed

Following two years where she had high-profile episodes with UFC stars Nick Diaz and Conor McGregor, Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) chair Pat Lundvall’s run with the NAC is coming to an end. She confirmed that she had been contacted by the governor’s office this Thursday and told she would not be re-appointed to MMA Fighting

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Following two years where she had high-profile episodes with UFC stars Nick Diaz and Conor McGregor, Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) chair Pat Lundvall’s run with the NAC is coming to an end.

She confirmed that she had been contacted by the governor’s office this Thursday and told she would not be re-appointed to MMA Fighting today. According to the report, Lundvall’s last day will be October 31. She informed her colleagues of the news in an email on Friday, issuing the following statement:

“I have served three terms for a total of nine years with the NAC. I considered every minute of it as a privilege and an honor.”

The inaugural woman to be elected chair of the NAC, Lundvall had served the commission for nine years dating back to her appointment by Governor Jim Gibbons. Yet Lundvall was known far more for her high-profile battles with Diaz and McGregor rather than any trailblazing she did in that regard, and it would be tough to imagine those episodes didn’t at least play a part in the decision to not re-appoint her.

Speculation aside, Lundvall’s hearing war with Diaz incited outrage throughout the entire MMA universe last year when she motioned for the outspoken Stockton slugger to be suspended for life after he repeatedly plead the Fifth Amendment in a hearing surrounding his third test failure for marijuana metabolites during his UFC 183 loss to Anderson Silva. Lundvall then motioned for Diaz to be suspended for five years, which was accepted by the commission.

Countless fans and Diaz’ legal team believed the commission had not given Diaz a fair decision regarding the testing, as one of the tests supposedly contains a very large numbers of marijuana metabolites while Diaz passed two other tests at a completely different laboratory. Interestingly enough, Diaz later settled on a year-and-a-half suspension, which expired in August.

Lundvall’s attention-grabbing time in the spotlight didn’t end there, however, as she once again attempted to bring down the hammer on featherweight champion Conor McGregor for his bottle and can-throwing melee at a pre-fight presser for his UFC 202 rematch against Nick’s brother Nate Diaz. Her first motion was to fine McGregor a lofty 10 percent of his record $3 million purse, a punishment that was reduced to a $75,000 fine and a public service announcement that will cost $75,000.

‘The Notorious’ certainly didn’t take to the sanctions kindly, wishing the NAC ‘good luck trying to get it’ from him and expressing a desire to not longer fight in Nevada. With McGregor one of the state’s biggest cash machines and Lundvall drawing negative pub from the media and fans, it may not be a surprise she wasn’t re-appointed.

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