Three of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts (MMA) today are set to appear in front of the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) after numerous prior delays for Nate Diaz, Jon Jones, and Brock Lesnar have hindered them unable to get their respective days in court. The three men are scheduled to appear in
Three of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts (MMA) today are set to appear in front of the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) after numerous prior delays for Nate Diaz, Jon Jones, and Brock Lesnar have hindered them unable to get their respective days in court.
The three men are scheduled to appear in front of the NSAC on December 15th for the commission’s meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada. Diaz’s hearing is due to a pre-fight water bottle war with opponent Conor McGregor at a UFC 202 press conference, in which the two adversaries chucked bottles at one another form across the room. McGregor, who has already had his day in front of the NSAC, was fined $75,000 fine for the incident, as well as ordered to fulfill 50 hours of community service and participate in a public-service announcement (also worth $75,000).
‘The Notorious One’, however, has filed a notice for judicial review after refusing to pay the hefty fine, in hopes of challenging the NSAC’s ruling in front of the Clark County civil court.
Jones and Lesnar’s cases are rather similar as both men tested positive for the anti-estrogenic agent Hydroxy-clomiphene prior to UFC 200. While Jones was pulled from the event just days before, Lesnar was allowed to compete as his test results were not received until after the card’s conclusion.
Jones has reportedly reached an agreement with the NSAC for a one-year suspension that will keep him outside of the Octagon until July 6, 2017. While no news on Lesnar’s situation has come to light as of yet, he is expected to receive a similar punishment.
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…
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.
(Yeah, that’s pretty much all we can do at this point.)
As you might expect, the news of Jon Jones’ positive test for cocaine did not come without its fair share of questions from both fans and media members, questions like “Why wasn’t Jones punished prior to UFC 182?”, “Will he be punished now?” and “If cocaine isn’t banned out-of-competition, why was he tested for it in the first place?” And those are all sensible questions that the Nevada State Athletic Commission would love to answer. The problem is, none of them can seem to get their stories straight.
Where to begin, where to begin. I guess we should start with the date that NSAC was made aware of Jones’ test failure, which according to NSAC chairman Francisco Aguilar in an exclusive statement made to MMAFighting, was “around” December 23rd. While the UFC was informed shortly thereafter, Jones was not made aware of his positive test until two days after his fight with Cormier, for whatever reason. The UFC has declined to share their timeline of events in this matter, which isn’t sketchy in the least bit.
As to why Jones was being tested for cocaine in the first place? Well, it starts to get really, really murky there…
(Yeah, that’s pretty much all we can do at this point.)
As you might expect, the news of Jon Jones’ positive test for cocaine did not come without its fair share of questions from both fans and media members, questions like “Why wasn’t Jones punished prior to UFC 182?”, “Will he be punished now?” and “If cocaine isn’t banned out-of-competition, why was he tested for it in the first place?” And those are all sensible questions that the Nevada State Athletic Commission would love to answer. The problem is, none of them can seem to get their stories straight.
Where to begin, where to begin. I guess we should start with the date that NSAC was made aware of Jones’ test failure, which according to NSAC chairman Francisco Aguilar in an exclusive statement made to MMAFighting, was “around” December 23rd. While the UFC was informed shortly thereafter, Jones was not made aware of his positive test until two days after his fight with Cormier, for whatever reason. The UFC has declined to share their timeline of events in this matter, which isn’t sketchy in the least bit.
As to why Jones was being tested for cocaine in the first place? Well, it starts to get really, really murky there, because it turns out that Jones was tested twice on December 4th after his first sample came back “watery,” and both samples came back positive for trace amounts of cocaine metabolites. This is according to NSAC executive director Bob Bennett, who then attempted to answer why Jones was tested for a drug that isn’t banned out-of-competition by claiming “an administrative oversight.”
“That was a bit of an anomaly that will be addressed [at the next NAC hearing on] Jan. 12.” Bennett told MMAFighting. “It was not a report requested by the NAC. It appears to have been an administrative oversight.”
Of course, Bennett also revealed that Jones was then tested *again* on December 18th — or nearly a week before NSAC had been informed of his previous failure — and passed with flying colors. While Bennett was quick to claim that Jones wasn’t tested for “street drugs” in his follow-up test, Aguilar told Yahoo! Sports that Jones actually was. A quick look over the actual test results seems to coincide with Aguilar’s understanding of things:
Accept that they don’t, because in a follow-up interview with MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani, Bennett then claimed that the lab responsible for carrying out Jones’ test “copied the info that they put in the 12/4 test results but DID NOT test Jones for any recreational drugs on 12/18.” For what it’s worth, Aguilar told Kevin Iole that wasn’t sure of the exact date of Jones’ second test, but that it happened “about a week later, Dec. 11 or Dec. 12.”
So Jones may or may not have been tested for cocaine on two separate occasions, depending on which member of NSAC you are asking, and his second test was conducted before the results of his first were made available. Also, no one really seems to know when he was tested, and either the lab messed up what he was actually tested for or Bennett is flat-out lying to us. Now would probably be a good time to reiterate that these are the people the UFC deferred its out-of-competition drug testing because they were the more competent of the two.
The tl;dr version, in case you’re having trouble keeping track of all this…
But let’s get to Jones’ possible punishment, shall we? According to WADA code, the Nevada State Athletic Commission would have no grounds to punish Jones for his drug test failure because it did not come during WADA’s definition of “in competition” — the 12-hour stretch before a contest, as well as the time needed to collect any test samples immediately afterwards. The problem is, those very codes actually state that, yes, NSAC can very well punish Jones for his test failure (via Bleacher Report):
But Nevada allows the Athletic Commission great leeway. In fact, Nevada code allows the Athletic Commission to revoke a fighter’s license for:
“cause deemed sufficient by the Commission upon a hearing as provided for in NRS 467.113.”
The state likely could have stopped the fight had they desired to based on this catch-all provision. Of course, Nevada is the same state that allowed Floyd Mayweather to delay his jail sentence in order to fight Miguel Cotto in 2012. Combat sports are big business in Nevada, capable of injecting upwards of $100 million into the local community with each major bout.
Additionally, Jones’ positive test also violates the UFC’s Code of Conduct, which states that “Discipline may be imposed for misconduct, which includes without limitation, the following examples: …criminal offenses relating to performance-enhancing and prohibited substances, or substance abuse …” But if you honestly think the UFC is going to punish Jones beyond giving him a pat on the back for entering rehab, then we’ve got a bridge to sell you.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission will meet on Monday to discuss any and all issues related to Jones’ test, and hopefully we’ll get some actual, definitive answers then. Until then, let’s all just sit back and enjoy the glorious clusterfuck that is our sport.
(For just the price of a cup of coffee a day, you can help this child AFFORD A FIGHT PASS SUBSCRIPTION TO WATCH VINTAGE WANDERLEI SILVA KICK SOME ASS! HYEAAHHH!!!)
Moments after Silva was handed his punishment, Josh Gross reported that Silva would in fact be repealing the verdict within 30 days through attorney Ross Goodman, who referred to the NSAC as a “kangaroo court” (presumably before dropping the mic and peacing out that bitch). Goodman’s assessment was not entirely ungrounded, as Chuck Mindenhall pointed out in his hilarious write-up of yesterday’s proceedings.
Thank you my friends, you got the power and you give it for whoever you want. Thank you very much for everything. And for you that desire my fall, come to me, the war is only in the beginning you sons of bitches. You’re going to see that we rule this shit. Bunch of fops.
I’ll give Wanderlei this, the man has a surprisingly diverse vocabulary for a guy who spends the majority of his free time shooting black-and-white vlogs set to bro rock in his basement.
(For just the price of a cup of coffee a day, you can help this child AFFORD A FIGHT PASS SUBSCRIPTION TO WATCH VINTAGE WANDERLEI SILVA KICK SOME ASS! HYEAAHHH!!!)
Moments after Silva was handed his punishment, Josh Gross reported that Silva would in fact be repealing the verdict within 30 days through attorney Ross Goodman, who referred to the NSAC as a “kangaroo court” (presumably before dropping the mic and peacing out that bitch). Goodman’s assessment was not entirely ungrounded, as Chuck Mindenhall pointed out in his hilarious write-up of yesterday’s proceedings.
Thank you my friends, you got the power and you give it for whoever you want. Thank you very much for everything. And for you that desire my fall, come to me, the war is only in the beginning you sons of bitches. You’re going to see that we rule this shit. Bunch of fops.
I’ll give Wanderlei this, the man has a surprisingly diverse vocabulary for a guy who spends the majority of his free time shooting black-and-white vlogs set to bro rock in his basement.
Silva also attempted to rally his fans with the image above, which came with a slightly less nuanced call to arms.
No way! My fans no body take, thanks my guys! Doesn’t matter, we’re too many. We’re going to show our strength. You want a brawl, come to me and you’ll have, motherfuckers!!!!
I’m not sure what Wanderlei’s hoping to accomplish here, as a repeal seems all but impossible in light of the circumstances, but dammit, there’s just something about the NSAC’s skull-shattering incompetence and inconsistency that makes me want to see Wandy bring it all crumbling down. Something’s definitely wrong with me.
We’ll keep you updated as Wanderlei’s war with NSAC wages on, but for now, let’s just all gather round the fire, break out the acoustic guitar, and remember the good times.
I will remember you, Will you remember me? Don’t let your liiiiiiiiife pass you by, Weep not for the memories….
“The incident between Jones and Cormier will not be on the agenda for the commission meeting this month,” NSAC Executive Director Bob Bennett told MMAjunkie yesterday. “If and when it does, I will let you know.”
Directly following the brawl, NSAC chair Francisco Aguilar wrote, “It’s too premature for us to comment, considering we were not there. Upon review of the video and follow up questions, we can make an assessment.” Ten days later, it’s apparently still too premature to comment; they must be super-busy over there. Still, I guess taking no action is better than immediately firing a guy before even looking at the tape.
With Jones vs. Cormier now postponed to January, this would have been the perfect opportunity for the NSAC to give the fighters an utterly meaningless four-month suspension that would expire before the fight was scheduled. But they’re not even doing that. Like I said before, being a superstar with a fight coming up makes you untouchable.
“The incident between Jones and Cormier will not be on the agenda for the commission meeting this month,” NSAC Executive Director Bob Bennett told MMAjunkie yesterday. “If and when it does, I will let you know.”
Directly following the brawl, NSAC chair Francisco Aguilar wrote, “It’s too premature for us to comment, considering we were not there. Upon review of the video and follow up questions, we can make an assessment.” Ten days later, it’s apparently still too premature to comment; they must be super-busy over there. Still, I guess taking no action is better than immediately firing a guy before even looking at the tape.
With Jones vs. Cormier now postponed to January, this would have been the perfect opportunity for the NSAC to give the fighters an utterly meaningless four-month suspension that would expire before the fight was scheduled. But they’re not even doing that. Like I said before, being a superstar with a fight coming up makes you untouchable.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission struck a blow for fair, healthy MMA competition today, voting for an immediate ban on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). Therapeutic usage exemptions (TUE) will no longer be granted to fighters, even for those who had been approved to use hormone therapy in the past. Furthermore, the NSAC will push other states to ban TRT as well, and won’t honor the TUEs approved by other state commissions.
And so, MMA’s biggest PED loophole has been closed by the country’s most influential athletic commission — and other state athletic commissions may be forced to follow suit. Vitor Belfort will have to fight clean in Nevada, along with everybody else who previously had doctor’s notes for testosterone.
It’s a good day for the sport. We’ll update you with any major developments that follow.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission struck a blow for fair, healthy MMA competition today, voting for an immediate ban on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). Therapeutic usage exemptions (TUE) will no longer be granted to fighters, even for those who had been approved to use hormone therapy in the past. Furthermore, the NSAC will push other states to ban TRT as well, and won’t honor the TUEs approved by other state commissions.
And so, MMA’s biggest PED loophole has been closed by the country’s most influential athletic commission — and other state athletic commissions may be forced to follow suit. Vitor Belfort will have to fight clean in Nevada, along with everybody else who previously had doctor’s notes for testosterone.
It’s a good day for the sport. We’ll update you with any major developments that follow.
