When Nate Diaz declared he was dropping out of the UFC 244 main event due to an adverse finding in one of his pre-fight drug tests, he wasn’t making an idle threat.
At that moment, he was resolved that his fight against Jorge Masvidal was off.
Just over 24 hours later, the UFC issued a statement exonerating Diaz of any intentional wrongdoing. Backed up by USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency), the promotion stated he was essentially a victim of a contaminated supplement.
Once his name was cleared, Diaz was ready to fight again. But he’s still standing firm that he did absolutely nothing wrong, and he was more than willing to walk away from a massive payday to prove his innocence.
“I wasn’t happy about any of it actually,” Diaz told MMA Fighting on the UFC 244 media conference call. “I think it was all just a big old bunch of bullsh*t. I just wanted to not be a part of the big old f*cking secret. I think the thing about people on steroids— people on steroids don’t talk about steroids out loud. I’m like if we’re going to have to get down to the point, let’s get down to the point. I’m not going to hold a secret or figure it out afterwards.
“We need to get this out of the way, because I’ve got sh*t I’ve got to put my mind on. If we’ve got to cancel the fight, that’s what we’re going to have to do, but let’s get that sh*t out the way because that’s whack. I thought was all made up and a bunch of bullst*it anyways. It’s behind so now we can move on.”
In his initial statement last week, Diaz said he wasn’t going to keep quiet about the situation “as they suggested,” which seemed to hint that someone inside the UFC ranks was attempting to keep his adverse drug test a secret until after his fight with Masvidal on Saturday night.
Diaz wasn’t willing to divulge any more details about who exactly passed along the message to him. But he made it clear that he could have easily moved forward with the fight without ever revealing the results of this drug testing issue with USADA.
“That was the biggest thing,” Diaz said. “I’m not trying to throw nobody under the rug like that. It was just a big secret and it was shady and it sounded like some sh*t people on steroids are involved in. I didn’t feel comfortable with that. So I’m like let’s just put it on the table then. Because if you’re going to tell me right now that I’m going to test positive for some sh*t and everyone is going to go buck wild, then I don’t even want to fight.
“It’s only cheating if you jump in under the influence of that sh*t, right? So I’m like let’s just say I did accidentally take this sh*t, which I didn’t, but let’s say I did though. Well then let’s just f*cking fight in a couple months when the sh*t wears off. I have no problem with that. I don’t care if it ruins your show. You ain’t ruining my whole legacy. I’m all natural. If we was cavemen, I’d be the hardest caveman out there.”
A huge part of the reason why Diaz outed himself rather than deal with the UFC and USADA behind the scenes was because he never had any doubt whatsoever that he didn’t cheat.
That’s why he put the onus back on them to either face the consequences of the adverse finding in his drug test right away, or he wasn’t flying to New York for UFC 244.
“I knew I was cleared and good to go anyway,” Diaz said. “I was like fix it, you guys are going to make up some bullsh*t eventually, so let’s just get it cleared the f*ck up right now. You guys clear it up, and I’ll fight and I’m going to be on fair ground.
“I ain’t going to be on no ‘after the fight this is why he won or lost’ type of sh*t. I ain’t playing that sh*t, you know what I’m saying? It’s going to be on fair ground.”
Diaz says he was initially informed of the adverse findings in his drug tests approximately four days prior to the statement he released on Twitter.
That’s when he made the decision to take the power out of the UFC’s hands by announcing he was dropping out of the fight, and suddenly, the situation got handled within 24 hours.
“I don’t want to have no excuses for winning or losing,” Diaz said. “I just want it to be a fair fight like it should be. I’ve seen other people get in trouble for this type of thing before, they keep a big old secret, they’re like ‘let’s keep this on the low cause we might ruin a show.’ I’m like no, there is no f*cking show if we’re not going to do it right so let’s make it happen right.
“The second I tell them, all of a sudden it’s right and cleared. It’s kind of funny to me, the whole situation. I’m going to leave it behind me. I’m done with all that sh*t now. If they want to call me on that kind of sh*t again, we can test everyday for the rest of my life, cause I’ve been taking all the same sh*t I’ve been taking for the last five years. Don’t try play me, cause I ain’t playing back.”
The UFC claims that an “organic, vegan, plant-based daily multivitamin” was contaminated with the banned substance LGD-4033—a selective androgen receptor modulator banned at all times for athletes—led to the adverse findings in the drug test.
For his part, Diaz says he never stopped taking any of his supplements, even in the wake of the notification he received from the UFC about the atypical results.
“I did not stop taking any supplements,” Diaz revealed. “I did not stop doing anything that I do. I just kept on keeping on. I doubled up on supplements cause I got all vegan, all Garden Life, all f*cking just plant-based sh*t. I just kept going. The next test came in, and I’m like what’s this one say, like laughing and they’re like ‘this one you’re testing higher,’ and I’m like, ‘You guys are f*cking with me now.’
“I kept doing what I was doing. They’ve got to retest, or check their sh*t, cause something’s wrong with their sh*t. You guys are over here trying to stress me out when I’ve got a fight. This ain’t fair grounds right here. This ain’t fair grounds for me, you’re over here sweating me about this. So how about the fight’s f*cking off and let’s let UFC and Masvidal and all these motherf*ckers sweat.”
Obviously, the UFC sorted out the issue in record time.
“They try to do this, they try to do that, and I’m like, ‘Well all right, this is done, clear it up because if it’s not clear, I quit right now,’” Diaz said. “They cleared it up, and it was just a little half a speed-bump; I wasn’t even worried about.
“It’s going to be their loss if they f*cking keep trying to play me. It was half a second that I was f*cking not even sweating.”
Ultimately, Diaz calls the whole debacle one giant “conspiracy,” and he vehemently denies any accusations made against him, especially considering his feelings on the majority of fighters in the UFC, who he branded as cheaters a long time ago.
“Everybody I’ve been fighting has been on steroids,” Diaz proclaimed. “Most of the people, I don’t want to diss everybody, but most of the people in the UFC, champions or not champion, they’re all on f*cking steroids, and they’re going to pass their tests and they know how to pass their tests. I know, cause I know all them motherf*ckers.”
Source: MMAfighting.com
