Ronda Rousey and Henry Cejudo have expressed support of Nick Diaz in light of his 5 year suspension and fine by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Cejudo has made the statement that he will not fight in Nevada due to the commission ruling.
According to MMA Fighting, Cejudo sent a letter to the web site stating his displeasure with the commission’s handling of the Nick Diaz discipline.
A portion of the letter reads:
I am absolutely appalled at how the NAC handled the Nick Diaz matter. The issue here is not the magnitude of the penalties assessed to Nick Diaz, it is the process, or lack thereof, in determining Nick Diaz’s guilt or innocence. Significant discrepancies existed between the test samples, and the NAC has an absolute obligation to resolve those discrepancies before the penalty phase of the disciplinary hearing was heard. What the NAC did was ignore due process and go straight to the penalty phase.
Cejudo goes on to applaud the UFC for hiring USADA for its anti-doping program. But, he believes that the NAC testing process is flawed:
Until the NAC testing process can be independently reviewed, its findings made public, and corrective action taken, I personally do not believe it is a safe or credible place to conduct business. That includes a review of the recent actions and competencies of Commission members.
Cejudo also requested that the UFC intercede in the Diaz case.
Rousey spoke out about the Diaz discipline as part of a press conference for UFC 193.
“I’m against them testing for weed at all. It’s not a performance-enhancing drug, it has nothing to do with the competition and it’s only because of political reasons they say ‘oh it’s only for your safety to keep you from hurting yourself because you’re out there.’ You know what, then why don’t they test for all of the other things that could possibly hurt us, that we could be under the influence of while we’re out there? There’s no reason for them to be testing for weed.”
Payout Perspective:
The good news is that fighters are speaking up about what they perceive is a wrong. Although you may argue that Diaz should be culpable for at least his actions, the fact remains that the suspension is not in line with discipline. Certainly, if Wanderlei Silva could get a Nevada court to reverse and remand the commission’s fine and suspension against him, Diaz has a good shot. Judge Kerry Earley determined that the NSAC’s punishment against Wanderlei was “arbitrary, capricious and not supported by substantial evidence.” Based on this, Diaz attorneys are probably drawing up the lawsuit now (if it hasn’t already).
Cejudo’s statement is bold and shows a sense of awareness as a fighter with respect to the alleged unevenness by the commission. Obviously, if Rousey were to make the same proclamation this would absolutely cause the UFC to stir. While she will fight outside of Nevada three straight times, Vegas is still key for the UFC and any big fight will occur in the state. Cejudo is not a big name yet and while implementing a self-ban is nice, unless more fighter join in, it might not amount to much.
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