Nick Diaz fined $165,000 and handed a 5-year suspension at NSAC hearing

Nick Diaz suspended for 5 years!

The Nevada State Athletic Commission summoned UFC welterweight and former Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz to its disciplinary hearing yesterday in relation to his failing the drug test post-UFC 183 for marijuana.

After an elaborate hearing involving lengthy legal talk from both sides, Diaz was handed a fine of $165,000 (33% of his $500,000 fight purse) and a suspension for 5 years for his third drug offence in the state of Nevada. However, Diaz was lucky to have avoided the lifetime ban which was advocated by commissioner Pat Lundvall, which didn’t get everyone’s vote.

Expectedly, Nick Diaz was upset at the decision, which he thought is ridiculous. "I'm pretty pissed," Diaz told ESPN.com. "I got into this sport for this exact reason, being stuck in a room with people like that. I wanted to tell them what I think. I wanted to tell each and every one of them they're a bunch of dorks. Everybody who sees them or knows who they are should tell them that. I would if it weren't for my experts advising me to keep my mouth shut. I wanted to get up and say, 'Look. You guys are way the f--- out of line.' "

Diaz kept quiet during the whole proceeding so as to have the NSAC commissioners focus on facts and evidence alone. But the plan didn’t work. Diaz’s attorney Lucas Middlebrook made it abundantly clear that they intend to contest the decision. Diaz’s opponent at UFC 183, Anderson Silva received a $380,000 fine and one-year suspension because he failed several tests for anabolic steroids.

Below was his reaction following the verdict: