Rematch Off: Nick Diaz Tests Positive For Weed (Again)

by Dr. Octagon, J.D.

The emotional roller coaster I’ve been on for the past few days has finally come to an end. Nick Diaz has tested positive for reefer yet again. I’m sure it’s a false positive, since Diaz is the acknowledged cardio king of MMA, competing in triathlons and swimming back from Alcatraz for fun. My D.A.R.E. officer told me ganja makes you lazy and is bad for your lungs, so I’m sure they’ve just made a mistake.

According Joe Rogan, Diaz has previously put up clips on Youtube (now private) discussing how he only stops burning 10 days before his fights. (Except when he subbed Takanori Gomi, when he likely had so many metabolites in his system that he was probably high during the fight). In my book if you sub a guy like Gomi when your brain is fried, you should get two wins, not a lame no contest. Here’s a clip of Rogan and Joey Diaz discussing Nick’s prefight tube-ripping and nunchuk-flipping.

It’s insane that the UFC treats Diaz, a guy who chillaxed too righteously during training camp, the same as a a cheater who puts another fighter in danger by juicing before a fight (Chael Sonnen, for example, who received a 6 month suspension). Not to mention weed is pretty much legal in California, where Diaz lives and trains. Yeah, you need a prescription for it, but not being high as a kite all the time is a recognized medical condition in the Sunshine state.

It has been reported that Nick has a prescription for his ADHD. I don’t see why there shouldn’t be a medical exemption like there is for steroids. I don’t know what steroids are supposed to treat besides the inability beat on another dude.

I’m pissed Diaz wasn’t smart enough to pass a drug test after fighting for the interim belt. But I’m more pissed that we still care whether a fighter is using a relatively innocuous substance, which won’t give him any advantage whatsoever in the cage. Typical Nick Diaz drama, I suppose. Hopefully the suspension will be short and we can get a rematch in before St. Pierre is ready to go, but I doubt it.

The only thing in Diaz’s favor is that Dana probably can’t fire him without drawing even more antitrust scrutiny, since there isn’t a single fighter that can hang with Nick outside the UFC.

By the way, if you aren’t listening to Joe Rogan’s podcast, you’re really missing out. Can’t wait to hear what he has to say about this mess.