
Nick Diaz's disciplinary hearing in front of the Nevada Athletic Commission for allegedly failing a post-fight drug screen after his loss to Carlos Condit on Feb. 4 in Las Vegas at UFC 143 figures to be a doozy.
The hearing isn't scheduled yet, though it's expected to be sometime next month. If things remain as contentious as they have been between Diaz's attorney Ross Goodman and the commission this week, tickets are going to be harder to come by than those for the Final Four.
Goodman has taken an aggressive stance and asserts that Diaz has not tested positive for a banned substance. Goodman argues that Diaz did not test positive for Delta-9-THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, but rather for marijuana metabolites. Those metabolites are an inactive ingredient in marijuana and are not on the World Anti Doping Agency's banned list that Nevada uses, Goodman said.
Goodman is clearly going to fight the case bitterly, and on Thursday, he railed against statements made by the public information officer for the Nevada attorney general's office.
Yahoo! Sports on Monday and Tuesday reached out to Christopher Eccles, the Nevada deputy attorney general who represents the athletic commission, seeking comment on points Goodman raised. Under a new policy instituted by attorney general Catherine Cortez Masto, however, her deputies are not allowed to speak to the media as they have in the past.
As a result, public information officer Jennifer M. Lopez returned the call for Eccles and later released a statement. Via email, Lopez said, "Not only did Nick Diaz violate the law by testing positive for marijuana metabolites, but he also lied to the Commission on his Pre-Fight Questionnaire when he swore that he had not used any prescribed medications in two weeks before the fight."
It is unusual for a spokesperson for an attorney general's office to call a person who will soon have a hearing in front of a state regulatory agency a liar.
Her statement probably wouldn't have been given much notice, though, had she said Diaz must have been mistaken when he checked no to a question asking if he'd taken any prescription medications in the preceding two weeks prior to the Feb. 3 weigh-in.
But saying outright that Diaz lied put Goodman even more in attack mode. He came out swinging on Thursday and insisted that Diaz did not lie when he checked no when he said he had not taken any prescription medications in the preceding two weeks.
The Nevada law that deals with medical marijuana doesn't regard it as a prescription drug. No doctor is able to prescribe it because it is a controlled substance.
Chapter 453A.210 of the Nevada Revised Statutes lays out the requirements to obtain a registry card for medical marijuana. To get the card, patients must comply with the following regulations:
(1) The person has been diagnosed with a chronic or debilitating medical condition;
(2) The medical use of marijuana may mitigate the symptoms or effects of that condition; and
(3) The attending physician has explained the possible risks and benefits of the medical use of marijuana;
(b) The name, address, telephone number, social security number and date of birth of the person;
(c) Proof satisfactory to the Division that the person is a resident of this State;
(d) The name, address and telephone number of the person's attending physician; and
(e) If the person elects to designate a primary caregiver at the time of application:
(1) The name, address, telephone number and social security number of the designated primary caregiver; and
(2) A written, signed statement from the person's attending physician in which the attending physician approves of the designation of the primary caregiver.
"Nowhere in there does it say that the attending physician is prescribing marijuana," Goodman said. "And so, for obvious reasons, before you speak and call someone a liar, you think you'd do a little bit of due diligence and understand what the Nevada law actually says."
Diaz manager Cesar Gracie said in a 2009 interview with MMA Fighting that "Nick has a prescription for marijuana in California. He has had a prescription for the last couple years, so it's a legal drug for him. He has the prescription for ADHD [Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder], and he says it helps him."
But Goodman said it is all irrelevant. He said no reasonable person regards marijuana as either a prescription drug or an over the counter medication.
"It's not like you walk into the pharmacy and start looking around on the shelves and hope to pick up a bag of marijuana," Goodman said. "That's ridiculous. No reasonable person would believe that medical marijuana falls under the category of over the counter medications."
Curiously, though, in his response to the commission, Goodman himself made a big deal about a prescription. He referenced NRS 484C.210, which deals with prohibited substances. Goodman bolded a section which said "if the person who uses the substance has not been issued a valid prescription ... "
Diaz may ultimately be forced to accept a lengthy suspension. He was suspended for six months in Nevada in 2007 for failing a marijuana test. On Jan. 31, boxer Matt Vanda had a hearing after testing positive for a second time. Vanda was suspended for a year and fined 40 percent of his purse.
If Diaz goes down, though, he's not going to make it simple on the commission. This isn't going to be a case where the fighter hangs his or her head, is lectured to by the commissioners and then apologizes profusely and meekly accepts the punishment issued.
Goodman will make certain of that.
Ricardo Almeida Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves Andre Amade Dean Amasinger
Join Cagewriter for a look around the MMA world's weekend happenings.
Amoussou, Rickels shine at Bellator
Karl Amoussou moved on to the Bellator welterweight semifinals with a rear naked choke just two minutes into his bout with Chris Lozano. David Rickels wasted no time, knocking out Jordan Smith in just 22 seconds. Ben Saunders tried every submission in the book, but couldn't finish Raul Amaya on the way to a unanimous decision win. Bryan Baker, who was once a finalist in the Bellator middleweight tournament, won a less-than-thrilling split decision over Carlos Pereira.
Al Iaquinta stops Team Cruz
On "The Ultimate Fighter," Team Faber was in desperate need of a win. It came in the form of a three-round split-decision win over Myles Jury. Both Jury and Iaquinta were supposed to appear on earlier seasons of TUF, but injuries kept them off the show.
In their bout, Jury started strong with kicks in the first round. He tried for a choke late in the round, but couldn't secure it. Iaquinta pressed forward in several exchanges as he took a close second round. Since they were tied after two, Iaquinta and Jury went to a third round. Iaquinta came on strong in the third round, swarming Jury with strikes as he pushed ahead to win the final round.
With that, Team Faber won their first bout of the season and the next fight pick. On Friday, Michael Chiesa will represent Team Faber against Jeremy Larsen of Team Cruz.
Cyril Abidi Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama
Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/28066/bellator-63-weigh-in-results-welterweight-tournament-set/
Ricardo Almeida Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves Andre Amade Dean Amasinger
Andre Amade Dean Amasinger Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen Alex Andrade
While Georges St. Pierre is sidelined by a knee injury and Kenny Florian is retired after a back injury, the competitive spirit in each fighter has not died. They still feel the need to fight, even when it's just a thumb war.
Update: If the video didn't work for you last time, try again. It's been replaced.
As a thumb war aficionado, I feel the need to point out that Florian cheated. He pulled away from GSP's hand to apply the finishing move.
Other popular content on the Yahoo! network:
? UFC champ Dominick Cruz plays mind games with rival Urijah Faber
? Alex Smith returns to 49ers after San Francisco flirts with Peyton Manning
? Notre Dame seeks high-powered offense but finding right QB is difficult
? Video: Baylor's Brittney Griner becomes second to dunk in women's NCAA tourney
Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves Andre Amade
Welcome to another edition of weekend warriors, your rundown of what happened while you were watching the state of Kentucky break out in a war over a round, orange ball.
Bellator got to its lightweight final four. Watch the recap video above of Lloyd Woodard's fantastic win over Patricky Freire. (Seriously. It's worth your seven minutes.) Rick Hawn, an Olympic judo player, showed off striking skills with a TKO halfway through the first round. Brent Weedman advanced to the semifinals with a second-round submission of J.J. Ambrose. Thiago Michel rounds out the field after a split decision win over Rene Nazare.
TUF Awkwardness
This week's episode of "The Ultimate Fighter" started with last week's awkward fight pick. Since Dominick Cruz's team won the first fight, he had the next fight pick. When given the chance, he picked Justin Lawrence, the no. 1 pick from his own team. But he didn't name an opponent. Instead, Cruz asked Urijah Faber who he wanted to face Lawrence.
Put on the spot, Faber didn't have an answer, and no one from the team raised his hand to fight. Yikes. Cruz finally picked Cristiano Marcello, the experienced BJJ specialist who trained at Chute Boxe in Brazil.
Team Faber had good reason to be concerned, as Lawrence stopped Marcello in the second round. A push kick to the abdomen in the first round knocked Marcello down, but Marcello was effective in pushing the fight. His success was short-lived. Midway through the the second round, Lawrence threw a big left and ended the fight.
The second win for Team Cruz gave them another fight pick. Myles Jury from Team Cruz will take on Al Iaquinta from Team Faber.
Matt Andersen Alex Andrade Jermaine Andrè Yoji Anjo Tank Abbott
While Georges St. Pierre is sidelined by a knee injury and Kenny Florian is retired after a back injury, the competitive spirit in each fighter has not died. They still feel the need to fight, even when it's just a thumb war.
Update: If the video didn't work for you last time, try again. It's been replaced.
As a thumb war aficionado, I feel the need to point out that Florian cheated. He pulled away from GSP's hand to apply the finishing move.
Other popular content on the Yahoo! network:
? UFC champ Dominick Cruz plays mind games with rival Urijah Faber
? Alex Smith returns to 49ers after San Francisco flirts with Peyton Manning
? Notre Dame seeks high-powered offense but finding right QB is difficult
? Video: Baylor's Brittney Griner becomes second to dunk in women's NCAA tourney
Yoshihiro Akiyama Gilbert Aldana José Aldo John Alessio Houston Alexander