UFC welterweight fighter Nick Diaz failed drug test

Any talk of a dream fight versus Georges St-Pierre or a rematch versus Carlos Condit is on hold for Ultimate Fighting Championship star Nick Diaz after the Stockton, Calif., native tested positive for marijuana metabolites.

The welterweight star, who after more than a decade in the fight game has reached the top of the UFC food chain in recent months, failed a drug screening taken in accordance with his main event versus Condit at the Feb. 4 pay-per-view in Las Vegas. The result was confirmed Thursday by Keith Kizer of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

“All results received thus far have been negative, except Mr. Diaz tested positive for marijuana metabolites,” Kizer said in an email, noting that 18 of the competitors on the card were drug tested, among them Condit.

“A complaint for disciplinary action against Mr. Diaz has been filed.”

It is the second time in his career Diaz has failed a drug test. In 2007, while competing for Pride Fighting Championships, a win over Takanori Gomi in Las Vegas was changed to a no-contest after his test failure. According to the NSAC, Diaz tested nearly three times over the allowable limit for THC, the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis. At that time, Diaz was suspended for six months and fined 20 per cent of his purse.

UFC president Dana White did not hide his feelings about the test result.

“I am beyond disappointed that he tested positive for marijuana,” said White in a statement. “It is now in the hands of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.”

Diaz has polarized the mixed martial arts world, one of the elite fighters inside the cage and one of the most unpredictable outside.

He’s perhaps the most honest, charismatic fighter in the sport. Diaz makes no attempt to put on a front or create a public persona that’s different than the Diaz behind closed doors. Love him or hate him, what you see is what you get. That includes a hospital-room altercation with Joe Riggs hours after their match at UFC 57; starting a brawl on CBS following a Strikeforce main event in 2010; and his conversations with the press veering into unpredictable yet entertaining territory with little to no prompting.

The failed drug test is the latest drama in what has long been UFC’s most stable division. Reigning welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre was originally supposed to face Diaz last October while Condit was scheduled to take on BJ Penn. Diaz was replaced by Condit in the main event, however, after no-showing media events in Toronto and Las Vegas. At the time, Diaz trainer Cesar Gracie suggested Diaz simply doesn’t feel comfortable being around people.

“He has a very deep ingrained social anxiety, and it’s something he probably needs help for, I think. I think that’s why he self-medicates himself with the marijuana,” Gracie said, according to MMAFighting.com.

“That’s my amateur opinion.”

But when St-Pierre was injured days before UFC 137, Penn and Diaz were moved into the main event, while Condit was told he’d take on St-Pierre for the title at UFC 143. After Diaz dominated Penn, he called out St-Pierre, who responded by demanding he face Diaz instead of Condit.

Another twist came when St-Pierre tore his anterior cruciate ligament late last year and was forced to the sidelines. As a result, Condit took on Diaz to determine an interim champion in St-Pierre’s absence.

The outcome of the UFC 143 main event — a Condit unanimous decision — polarized fight fans. Diaz constantly moved forward, rarely deviating from his attack even when it wasn’t working. Condit refused to let Diaz goad him into a brawl, choosing instead to stick-and-move and counterpunch. Those who thought Diaz won said he was more aggressive, while supporters of Condit pointed out that despite his counterpunching, he actually outstruck Diaz overall.

The judges scored the match 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47, all in favour of Condit. With that win, he earned himself a unification bout versus superstar St-Pierre later this year.

After much clamouring from the Diaz and Condit camps, however, UFC president Dana White told Postmedia News on Tuesday that Condit and Diaz had agreed on a rematch. “It’s true. Condit wants the fight,” White wrote in a text.

Over the following hours, though, rumours began to swirl that there even though Diaz wanted the bout, he would be unable to take it.