The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) didn't just throw the book at Nick Diaz, they threw the entire library.
Diaz's hearing with the NSAC on Monday quickly devolved into a three-ring circus, and, after hours of back-and-forth, finished with the commission issuing him a five-year suspension for failing a drug test for marijuana following UFC 183 in January.
He was also docked 30 percent of his $500,000 purse.
A multiple-time offender, Diaz put up a vigorous defense, with his lawyer, Lucas Middlebrook, pointing out that the tests administered to Diaz by the SMRTL lab at 7:12 pm and 11:55 pm came back negative, while the positive test, taken by Quest Lab, was administered at 10:38 pm.
Middlebrook sparred with commissioner Pat Lundvall throughout the hearing, and Lundvall suggested a lifetime banishment once it was over.
Diaz pleaded the fifth during the hearing, answering "fifth amendment" to the almost two dozen questions he was asked.
Unsurprisingly, Diaz will appeal the results, and Middlebrook called the suspension a "personal vendetta" by the NSAC.
Following the decision, Diaz went on a bit of a tirade, essentially accusing everyone in MMA of taking steroids.
Diaz pic.twitter.com/nyuBAbte2x
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) September 14, 2015
Both Diaz and Anderson Silva failed their post-fight drug tests following UFC 183. Silva was handed a one-year suspension after testing positive for steroid metabolites.
