Nick Diaz is back in the headlines, but unfortunately this time it’s not about a comeback to fighting…
Former Strikeforce and WC 170-pound champion Nick Diaz is quite a polarising character. Inside the arena of combat, he’s a hard-headed cardio machine who shows no relent. In the media, Diaz is an oft-misunderstood and unique persona.
As lovable and entertaining as many feel he is, Nick Diaz’s fighting career is essentially on the rocks right now. Looking back at his recent career, it’s crazy to see he’s only fought three times in nearly six years.
Even crazier is the fact he’s won none of those fights in the octagon. Once considered the best welterweight on the planet outside the UFC, winning 11 fights in a row, Diaz could well be retiring after this latest drama.
USADA Beef
Due to not updating his whereabouts with the United States Anti-Doping Agency, Diaz is again in trouble. This time the doping squad have hit Nick with a temporary suspension for violating their policy:
“The UFC organization has been notified that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Nick Diaz of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from Diaz’s alleged accumulation of three Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period. Diaz, like all other UFC athletes, is enrolled in USADA’s UFC Registered Testing Pool and required to file accurate Whereabouts information in order to be located for out-of-competition, no-notice testing.”
Not great news, and Diaz responded in typical fashion yesterday:
Diaz Being Diaz
Although USADA’s policy has plenty of flaws, Diaz is being sanctioned for not providing his whereabouts on three occasions in 12 months. If he’s not considering fighting again, then fair enough.
Sadly this latest infraction will likely see Nick, who was once suspended for five years by the NSAC, sit out for at least another year. The NSAC would later reduce his sit to 18 months, but don’t expect the same leniency from USADA.
Here’s Diaz discussing the situation, and UFC president Dana White basically confirming what we are all thinking:
Nick Diaz statement on potential USADA violation: https://t.co/WVaoJzLGUl
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) 30 June 2017
“I highly doubt it,” White told MMAjunkie. “I don’t know, I honestly don’t think that, and I can’t speak for him, you’d have to speak with Nick himself, but if you ask me – people ask me, ‘Do you think Ronda (Rousey) is coming back?’ No. I think Ronda’s going to retire. Ronda hasn’t retired, but my opinion is, I think she will. I don’t think Nick Diaz will ever fight again. I just don’t think he has the desire anymore.”“The thing about fighting, first of all, it’s a young man’s game,” White said. “You’ve got to be young, hungry. You’ve got to be an animal to jump out of bed every day and go in there and train the way that you do.
“The things that you have to do to get to the UFC, let alone break into the top 10 or the top 5 or be a world champion, you have to love it. I just don’t think that Nick loves it anymore.”
