Tag: NSAC

Nick Diaz Won’t Give Up Marijuana: I’m Gonna Want To Smoke

Brash and outspoken UFC welterweight Nick Diaz dodged a bullet (well, sort of) when his ludicrous five year suspension due to a positive drug test for Marijuana metabolites was lessened to 18 months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC). While 18 months is still quite a bit of time, especially given that Diaz’s most

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Brash and outspoken UFC welterweight Nick Diaz dodged a bullet (well, sort of) when his ludicrous five year suspension due to a positive drug test for Marijuana metabolites was lessened to 18 months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC).

While 18 months is still quite a bit of time, especially given that Diaz’s most recent opponent, Anderson Silva, was only given a one year suspension after testing positive for steroids, the “Stockton Bad Boy” will be eligible to return to action on August 1, 2016.

Being that it was Diaz’s third offense for Marijuana in the state of Nevada likely added to his lengthy suspension, but that doesn’t mean that the former Strikeforce champion will give up his drug of choice.

In fact, Diaz made it very clear in a recent interview that despite the consequences, he’s going to want to smoke weed if his training remains the same:

“If I’m at home and I’m training – doing my same things every day – then I’m definitely going to want to use cannabis,” Diaz said. “It’s gonna help. I’m trying to stay focused on what I’m doing. I don’t want a whole lot of things going onâ people to call back, or text messages or whatever. I chill out, relax a little bit, and then I don’t have those issues. If I’m going to train all day, when I get done, I’m gonna want to smoke. If I have to go and train all day, before I go, I’m gonna want to smoke. If I wake up in the morning and feel beat to shit, and it’s going to take me forever to wake up, I smoke some weed and I wake right up. Then I have breakfast and I go do a workout.” Diaz told Dan Skye of High Times.

The debate regarding whether or not Marijuana should even be a banned substance out of competition has run rampant as of late, with many feeling as if the use of the substance should garner no penalty.

Diaz has become a poster boy for Marijuana use in mixed martial arts so to say, and while he has been punished because of it, it doesn’t seem as if he’s going to stop.

However, this shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise given that the Diaz brothers have always played by their own rules.

Should Marijuana remain a banned substance?

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Not That You Care, But Wanderlei Silva Was Just Hit With a Three Year Suspension


(“You say Vitor Belfort got accepted at Stanford? GET ME YALE ON THE LINE, ASAP.”)

It doesn’t really matter all that much, because Wanderlei Silva has spent the past three years in exile from the sport (and, oh yeah, retired from it over 2 years ago), but the former Pride and UFC star’s long legal battle with the Nevada State Athletic Commission has finally come to an end. His sentence? THREE MORE YEARS OF IRRELEVANCY.

Sort of.

Details after the jump.

The post Not That You Care, But Wanderlei Silva Was Just Hit With a Three Year Suspension appeared first on Cagepotato.


(“You say Vitor Belfort got accepted at Stanford? GET ME YALE ON THE LINE, ASAP.”)

It doesn’t really matter all that much, because Wanderlei Silva has spent the past three years in exile from the sport (and, oh yeah, retired from it over 2 years ago), but the former Pride and UFC star’s long legal battle with the Nevada State Athletic Commission has finally come to an end. His sentence? THREE MORE YEARS OF IRRELEVANCY.

Sort of.

Details after the jump.

Yes, after initially being handed a lifetime ban by the commission for skipping out on a drug test prior to his UFC 175 bout with Chael Sonnen — a ruling that was later overturned by a Nevada District Court judge — Silva appeared before the NSAC earlier today to challenge the suspension. According to those present, Silva’s attorney, Saul Goodman, used the opportunity to lay into NSAC head Bob Bennett with a line of questioning that was deemed ”insulting” by the board. After some brief debate, Silva was hit with a three year suspension retroactive to May of 2014, meaning he will be free to compete in May of 2017. The $70,000 fine he received was also rescinded due to the fact that oh who gives a f*ck.

One can only imagine the pro wrestling-style shoot promo that awaits us any minute now.

Speaking of drug test-related suspensions, you might recall that Gleison Tibau was hit a USADA notice of his own back in December, after flunking an out-of-competition drug test on the heels of his submission win over Abel Trujillo at Fight Night 77 (I know, contain your surprise). At first, it looked like the long-standing member of the lightweight division would be appealing, but just as quickly, Tibau pulled a rare move in MMA these days and publicly apologized for failing the test. Even crazier, he honest-to-God admitted to using EPO and subsequently ended his appeal, telling MMAFighting:

It’s going to be it. They asked me if I wanted to appeal, but it was too tiresome. Three months of meetings at the court, that’s tiring. I don’t want to appeal anymore. I’m done. I expected it to be easier, but that demands a lot from you mentally, physically and financially. If I wanted to continue the appeal, I would have to pay all the court costs from now on, I would have to pay my lawyer, and the suspension would probably go down only three or six months, I don’t know, so I decided not to appeal.

As such, Tibau will now be suspended from the sport for the minimum two years, as per the new UFC/USADA guidelines. For what it’s worth, he seems generally remorseful for what he’s done.

“I’m upset,” continued Tibau. “I have to apologize to my fans because it was a medical mistake. We used a substance we thought wouldn’t be anything, we used it out of competition. I have my conscience clear that I took it without imagining I was doing something wrong. It’s going to be hard for me, but I will pay the price for my mistake.”

Well at least his conscience is clear. I don’t know if I’d be able to live with the idea of a cheater who nearly strangled his last opponent to death having a case of the sads.

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Wanderlei Silva Receives Three-Year Suspension From NSAC

Controversial Brazilian legend Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva has finally had his time in front of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Back in 2014, Silva reportedly had fled the scene of a commission ordered random drug test ahead of his scheduled clash with Chael Sonnen. The NSAC proceeded to take it to “The Axe Murderer”,

The post Wanderlei Silva Receives Three-Year Suspension From NSAC appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Controversial Brazilian legend Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva has finally had his time in front of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Back in 2014, Silva reportedly had fled the scene of a commission ordered random drug test ahead of his scheduled clash with Chael Sonnen.

The NSAC proceeded to take it to “The Axe Murderer”, handing the Brazilian a $75,000 fine and an insane life-time ban from fighting. The life suspension was overturned by a district court judge last May, and Silva has been waiting ever since for his hearing with the commission to take place.

That hearing occurred earlier today (February 17, 2016).

Although Silva’s attorney, Ross Goodman, had pleaded for a two-year suspension, “The Axe Murderer” was essentially handed a three-year suspension dating back to May 2014 which means he could be eligible to fight again as early as next year.

Due to the nature of the offenses, Silva will also be forced to pass a drug test upon his return.

MMAFighting’s Shaheen Al-Shatti broke the news via twitter:

Silva was recently released from his UFC contract, and it’s very likely that we’ll never see him back inside of the Octagon. However, even at 39 years of age we may not have seen the last of the Brazilian slugger.

Bellator has expressed potential interest in Silva and there have even been rumors of a bout between “The Axe Murderer” and legendary heavyweight Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko possibly taking place in Rizin FF.

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Fedor Emelianenko vs. Wanderlei Silva Is A ‘Possibility’

Legendary Brazilian slugger Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva is finally a free man. Well, almost. After endless amounts of controversy with both the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) and the UFC, Silva was finally released from his promotional contract last month. Although he still has some issues to clear up with the commission, it appears

The post Fedor Emelianenko vs. Wanderlei Silva Is A ‘Possibility’ appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Legendary Brazilian slugger Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva is finally a free man. Well, almost.

After endless amounts of controversy with both the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) and the UFC, Silva was finally released from his promotional contract last month.

Although he still has some issues to clear up with the commission, it appears that at age 39, “The Axe Murderer” plans on fighting again, and multiple promotions are interested in acquiring his services.

One of these promotions would be the fledgling Rizin Fighting Federation headed by former Pride FC owner Nobuyuki Sakakibara, Silva’s former boss.

Not only is Sakakibara interested in reuniting with the Brazilian, but there could potentially be a very lucrative fight looming on the horizon as well:

“This month, I will visit the United States, where I will meet with Wanderlei. This is a fighter, which is not only interesting to Rizin, but for fans of combat sports in general. And our job is to answer the wishes of our viewers. If we talk about the fight between Fedor and Wanderlei Silva, there is such a possibility. If the number of those wishing to see the fight between Fedor and Wanderlei Silva will be really great, we will make efforts to ensure that the fight takes place.” Sakakibara told Tass.ru.

Like Silva, Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko is a legend of Pride, and a man many consider to be amongst the best heavyweights of all-time.

Despite losing three-straight in Strikeforce near the tail end of his career in 2010-11, Emelianenko recently returned to score a submission victory over the rather inexperienced Jaideep Singh after a three year hiatus.

During his hay day, “The Last Emperor” went 28 straight fights without surrendering a loss. Owning wins over the likes of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mark Hunt, Tim Sylvia, Kevin Randleman, Mark Coleman, and Andrei Arlovski, Emelianenko is clearly an iconic figure in MMA.

Silva was also a force back in his Pride days, scoring countless amounts of knockout wins along with pivotal victories over big names like Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, and Dan Henderson.

Would you like to see these two pioneers of the sport go at it?

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Luke Rockhold Has Proved Himself, Eyes Bout With Anderson Silva

It’s now been just under two months since former Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold took out Chris Weidman via fourth round stoppage at December 12, 2015’s UFC 194 to become the undisputed UFC champion, but he’s still without an opponent for his first defense. All signs have been pointing towards a potential rematch with Weidman

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It’s now been just under two months since former Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold took out Chris Weidman via fourth round stoppage at December 12, 2015’s UFC 194 to become the undisputed UFC champion, but he’s still without an opponent for his first defense.

All signs have been pointing towards a potential rematch with Weidman as of late, or perhaps a showdown with the winner of May’s Ronaldo Souza vs. Vitor Belfort bout would make sense.

While those are logical options, the American Kickboxing Academy product also has another name in mind, and a rather large one: legendary former 185-pound king Anderson “The Spider” Silva.

Rockhold recently claimed that it’s a fight he’s always been interested in, and now that he’s at the top of the mountain, he feels as if it’s a perfect time to make it happen:

“I’m very interested in that fight. That’s a fight I’ve wanted for a very long time,” Rockhold told FOX Sports about the possibility of facing Silva. “We were both reigning champions in the top two organizations. I had my sights set on it, they didn’t give it to me, they didn’t think I had earned or was worthy of it. I’ve proven myself now.

“Now we’ve got Anderson Silva asking for that fight. That’s what I’m all about.”

After suffering back to back losses and a broken leg to Weidman in 2013, “The Spider” returned in January 2015 to take on Nick Diaz, a bout he would come out victorious in after scoring a unanimous decision victory.

The decision was later changed, however, when Silva tested positive for multiple performance-enhancing-drugs, leading the Nevada State Athletic Commission to hand him a one year suspension.

Now free to compete, Silva is slated to take on long-time divisional mainstay Michael Bisping later this month at UFC Fight Night 84. With no clear contender in line, the winner of this bout could very well find himself gearing up for a shot at gold.

With that being said, Rockhold is confident nonetheless. No matter who the opponent is, the champion aims to dominate and force his opposition to fear him:

“These guys think they have a chance and I’m going to go out there a better fighter every time and make them not want that opportunity,” Rockhold said. “That’s what I want every time I go out there, I want guys to not even think about getting in there with me.

“I didn’t have my best performance last time so next time out, I’m going to make people fear me.”

Who would you like to see Rockhold take on next?

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Nick Diaz On Return Fight: We’re Going To Do Something Big

After taking on Anderson Silva in the main event of January 2015’s UFC 183, outspoken UFC welterweight Nick Diaz was handed a ludicrous five year suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission due to a positive drug test for Marijuana metabolites. The Stockton native recently reached an agreement with the commission, however, lessening his suspension

The post Nick Diaz On Return Fight: We’re Going To Do Something Big appeared first on LowKick MMA.

After taking on Anderson Silva in the main event of January 2015’s UFC 183, outspoken UFC welterweight Nick Diaz was handed a ludicrous five year suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission due to a positive drug test for Marijuana metabolites.

The Stockton native recently reached an agreement with the commission, however, lessening his suspension to 18 months, and making him eligible to return to action August 1, 2016.

Despite not winning a fight since 2011, Diaz remains a huge draw and a huge fan favorite which usually lands him in massive fights. As for his return, “The Stockton Bad Boy” expects no different:

“I think my brother is probably going to get a fight before me, so I am just working on the rest of the people I am training with on their camps. Then we will establish who I will be fighting next. I am only trying to go big, though, I am not trying to do no small fights. So, if we’re going to do any fights, we are going to do something big. But, for now I am focusing on my younger brother and the rest of the academy in northern California, the team I train with, Team Black.” Diaz recently told MMA Mayhem TV.

Younger brother Nate recently returned from a year long layoff, taking out Michael Johnson in impressive fashion at last month’s UFC on FOX 17 from Orlando, Florida. The younger Diaz brother was actually recently rumored to be in talks regarding a potential fight with former 155-pound kingpin Anthony “Showtime” Pettis, although no confirmation has come just yet.

While helping Nate prepare for what lies ahead, Nick could also be gearing up for something huge, at least according to the former Strikeforce champion himself.

Who would you like to see Diaz take on upon his return sometime later this year?

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