Tag Archive for 'Nick Diaz'

Nick Diaz Suspended After Testing Positive for Marijuana

Published
by
The Fight Critic
on April 12, 2007
. 17 Comments

Nick Diaz Suspended by NSAC

Former UFC and current PRIDE fighter Nick Diaz tested positive for marijuana after his fight with Takanori Gomi in Las Vegas at the PRIDE 33 event. The Nevada State Athletic Commission handed down a six-month suspension to Diaz, fined him $3000, and changed the result of his fight with Gomi from a victory to ‘no contest’. What isn’t immediately clear is whether the suspension will be served concurrently or sequentially; Diaz was already serving a six-month medical suspension after suffering a broken orbital bone in the Gomi fight.

FightOpinion has some links to even more coverage on the topic.

Although it may be ridiculous to suggest that marijuana can enhance a fighter’s performance, the fact is that under current NSAC rules, the drug testing MMA fighters undergo includes a test for marijuana. It is crystal clear to fighters and their trainers what the rules are. Nick Diaz chose to defy the rules set forth by the same body that sanctions what he does for a living. If you don’t like the NSAC testing fighters for marijuana, you had better lobby them about it in the appropriate forum. Bitching about Diaz’s suspension after he broke the rules gets you nowhere.

Putting aside the question of whether marijuana can have a “positive impact” on a fighter’s performance, I don’t see any reason why marijuana testing should be removed from the drug tests. As long as marijuana is not the only illegal narcotic the NSAC tests for, and I don’t know if it is, then I am okay with the testing.

For me the question is this simple:

  1. Is marijuana an illegal substance?
  2. Is there a chance that consuming marijuana had any positive impact on Nick Diaz during his fight with Gomi?

The answer to both of those questions is, unequivocally, yes. Given that, how can you argue with the NSAC’s ruling in this case?

As mixed martial arts continues to grow and become one of the biggest sports in the country, why wouldn’t we want to ensure that our athletes are not breaking the law regularly? The fighters are the face of the sport everywhere they go. The problems that MMA has with how mainstream America perceives the sport are well documented. Lobbying to allow MMA fighters to fight while high on marijuana is the last thing we need to be doing.