Nate Diaz Possibly Facing USADA Suspension

UFC 202 went down this past Saturday August 20 and the thrilling main event is still fresh in our minds. Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz met in a rematch of their UFC 196 tilt and the result was an instant classic. For five rounds they went toe-to-toe in a clean striking battle, leaving everything they had in the octagon. The judges eventually scored a majority decision for the Irishman, evening the score between the two fierce rivals.

As with their first fight, the fun did not end in the octagon. Just moments after their highly entertaining brawl Diaz was lighting up a vape pen during the post-fight media scrum. When asked what was in the device, Diaz responded by saying it was ‘CBD oil.’ The substance is a Cannabis derived oil and known to help the healing process for a number of medical conditions.

Trouble?

It turns out the UFC’s partner in drug testing of athletes, USADA, is looking in to this potential infraction. As reported first by MMAFighting.com, USADA is currently investigating this possible violation:

“I can confirm that USADA is aware of the situation and is currently gathering information in order to determine the next appropriate steps,”

Nick’s Fight

Nick Diaz is fresh off an 18-month suspension from the Nevada Athletic Commission following a highly controversial hearing in 2015. The NAC first banned the older Diaz brother for five years, and they weren’t ever able to present solid evidence to prove he was actually over the limit of 150ng/ml of Marijuana metabolites.

If Nate Diaz is found to be in violation of USADA’s strict policies, he could well face a year on the sideline for his use of CBD oil. Although he’s already stated he won’t fight again until a McGregor trilogy is made, this is not great news. That said, the doping agency can use their own discretion in terms of the punishments severity. If chosen they could actually give him a written warning.

CBD Oil

For those wondering, CBD oil does not induce phsycho-activity and is proven to contain far less side effects than THC. The substance has a proven record in treating numerous medical illnesses. USADA would still consider Marijuana a performance enhancing drug though.

Stay tuned to LowKickMMA for more updates on this story.