Nick Diaz (Esther Lin/MMA Fighting)Nick Diaz’s 5-Year Suspension Reduced to 18-Months José Youngs January 12, 2016 News, Spotlight, UFC Nick Diaz is back. Well, almost back. On Tuesday afternoon, the Nevada State Athletic Commission announced it would be reducing Diaz’s initial suspension and fine following a settlement agreement during the meeting. Diaz was originally handed five-year suspension and fined $165,000 (30-percent of his fight purse) for testing positive for a marijuana metabolites during a UFC 183 drug test. These number will now be reduced to 18-month suspension (retroactive) and a $100,000 fine. As a result, Diaz is now eligible to return to competition as early as August. In the first hearing, Commissioners Pat Lundvall and Francisco Aguilar initially sought a lifetime ban due to Diaz’s two previous positive test, his decision not to show up for a previous pre-fight test and his role in the infamous 2010 brawl in Nashville during a Strikeforce event. However, their fellow commissioners Anthony Marnell and Raymond “Skip” Avansino felt the lifetime ban for marijuana was excessive, leading to them dropping their sentence to five years. This initial ruling sent shockwaves through the sport sporting world. This lead to the creation of an online White House petition, with the hopes of Diaz’s suspension getting overturned. The petition would go on to earn more than 100,000 signatures. As far as competition, the Stockton native most recently lost a unanimous decision to Anderson Silva at UFC 183. However, it was eventually overturned to a No Contest after Silva tested positive for banned substances drostanolone and androsterone.
