Nate Diaz has been exonerated of any potential wrongdoing by the UFC after adverse findings were discovered in a pre-fight drug test administered by USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency).
It was just over 24 hours ago that Diaz said he was pulling out of his upcoming fight against Jorge Masvidal, which was set to crown the first ever “BMF” (bad motherf*cker) champion in the UFC due to the adverse findings in his drug test.
Diaz vehemently denied any wrongdoing and stated that he would not fight so long as there was a potential doping violation hanging over his head.
“Until the UFC, Usada (sic) or whoever is F*CKING with me Fixes it, I won’t be competing,” Diaz, 34, wrote in his statement. “Your all on steroids not me.”
Late Friday night, the UFC released a lengthy statement clearing Diaz and stating that he did not commit a violation of the company’s anti-doping policy. He will face no punishment whatsoever, and he is free to compete at UFC 244 on Nov. 2 at Madison Square Garden.
“On Oct. 24, 2019, Nate Diaz released a public statement regarding a recent out-of-competition test conducted by USADA,” UFC officials wrote in a statement. “UFC has been notified by USADA that the out-of-competition test concluded that LGD-4033 was present in Mr. Diaz’s sample at an amount below the decision concentration level for this substance. USADA is reviewing the out-of-competition test as an atypical finding. Further laboratory testing conducted by the Sports Medicine Research and and Testing Laboratory (SMRTL), a WADA-accredited lab in Salt Lake City, Utah, has confirmed that two bottles of the same organic, vegan, plant-based daily multivitamins that Mr. Diaz was using were each contaminated with LGD-4033, which evidence supports resulted in Mr. Diaz’s positive sample.
“Mr. Diaz has not committed an anti-doping policy violation, has not been provisionally suspended and is not subject to any sanctions. Additionally, UFC has been informed by independent experts who have determined that there is unequivocally no appreciable performance enhancing or therapeutic benefit from the significantly limited amount of LGD-4033 that may be present in his system, which is roughly 10,000 times lower than one LGD-4033 therapeutic dose.”
Nate Diaz exonerated by USADA, cleared to compete at UFC 244
