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Cape Town - The Nevada Athletic Commission has reduced UFC fighter Nick Diaz’s suspension after a settlement meeting on Tuesday.
Diaz will be suspended 18 months and fined $100,000 in his marijuana case, stemming from his positive test post UFC 183 on Jan. 31, 2015 according to Nick Strickland from MMALatestNews.com.
It was Diaz’s third violation for marijuana within the state and the NAC also accused him of lying about not taking any drugs 30 days before the fight, information he gave on a pre-fight questionnaire. A popular fighter both inside the UFC and out, Diaz is now able to fight again by August.
Initially, the NAC suspended Diaz for five years and fined him $165,000 in September.
This immediately caused a huge stir both inside the MMA world and outside. Fighters, fans, celebrities and politicians all came out and showed support for Diaz. The biggest of which was an online White House petition to get his ban overturned. This was shared all over the world and earned more than 100,000 signatures.
Settlement talks started after the NAC failed to file a written decision to Diaz’s legal team. The UFC’s legal team, Campbell & Williams also joined the fight, stating that the suspension was both unfair and seemed more like a personal vendetta than NAC policy.
Diaz (26-9-2) is coming off of a no-contest against Anderson Silva at UFC 183 in his middleweight debut. The former welterweight contender previously dropped his last two fights against Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit (both title fights). A dangerous fighter on the ground and with the feet, Diaz will bring a unique style back to the Octagon.
