Nate Diaz sent out a bombshell on social media today when he tweeted out that USADA had found an adverse finding in a drug test and is therefore out of next week’s showdown with Jorge Masvidal on November 2nd in New York. The news, which has yet to be confirmed by USADA or the UFC as of the time of this writing, means that one of the most anticipated fights of this year looks to be off.
Diaz sent out a tweet of a typed message on his phone.
Your all on steroids not me pic.twitter.com/ykrZmRIoPS
— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) October 24, 2019
The message states Diaz, “tested with elevated levels that they say may be from a tainted supplement.” In detesting this ruling, Diaz noted, “I only take Whole Foods or natural foods supplements.”
For his part, Masvidal sent out a tweet in support of Diaz.
You not the baddest mofo in the game (i am) but you are one of the cleanest mofo’s @NateDiaz209 I’ll see you nov 2. I know your name is clean. I don’t need @usantidoping to tell me shit!
— Jorge Masvidal UFC (@GamebredFighter) October 24, 2019
Payout Perspective:
If this means Diaz is truly out of the fight, we do not know if Masvidal will take another opponent or if it is just a big blow for the event. It would be a big gain for boxing casuals that night as it is the same date as the Canelo Alvarez-Sergey Kovalev fight. This may gain some fans that would pay for the UFC PPV to pay for a DAZN subscription. As for the possibility of a tainted supplement, this looks like it may be the case. We have seen numerous findings of a tainted supplement where a banned substance is in the product although not named on the label. This could mean Diaz unknowingly ingested the product without his knowledge. But to the larger point at this time, it would mean that Diaz is out of the November 2nd fight barring any sort of last-minute findings.
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