Nate Diaz Will Not Face Discipline For Vaping At UFC 202

The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has announced that Nate Diaz will only be subject to a public warning for vaping after his barn burner with UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor at UFC 202 this past August.

During his post-fight press conference Diaz sat back and enjoyed some Cannabinoids while taking questions from the media, a substance that is banned under USADA testing criteria for athletes in-competition.

Diaz mistakenly thought the in-competition period had ended after providing post-fight testing samples for USADA, however, the period does not end until six-hours after the bout.

USADA released the official statement today on their website:

USADA announced today that UFC athlete Nate Diaz, of Stockton, Calif., has admitted using a prohibited substance during the in-competition period and has accepted a public warning for his policy violation.

Diaz, 31, admitted using the prohibited substance, Cannabidiol, following his bout at UFC 202 on August 20, 2016. Diaz’s use of the Cannabidiol occurred during the in-competition period, which is defined in the UFC Anti-Doping Policy as “the period starting six hours prior to the commencement of the scheduled weigh-in and ending six hours after the conclusion of the Bout.” Cannabidiol is a specified substance in the class of Cannabinoids and prohibited only in-competition under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, which has adopted the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List.

As part of its results management process, USADA gathered information and communicated with the athlete about the circumstances of his use of Cannabidiol on August 20, 2016. USADA concluded that Diaz mistakenly believed that the in-competition period ended after he provided a post-bout sample to USADA. In addition, the in-competition urine and blood samples provided by Diaz before his admitted use were analyzed and reported as negative for all prohibited substances, including Cannabinoids. Based on these circumstances, USADA determined that a public warning was an appropriate response to Diaz’s use of a specified substance during the in-competition period.

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