· Featured Fights: Diaz Tests Positive, Rematch Off; A Look At His Prior Violation

It has not been a good week for Nick Diaz, to say the least. This past Saturday, Diaz walked out of the Mandalay Bay Events Center on the short end of a controversial unanimous decision against Carlos Condit. The buzz about the judges’s scores was astounding, so much so that UFC President Dana White set up an immediate rematch between Diaz and new Interim UFC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit. Unfortunately for Diaz, the rematch everyone seemed to want slipped through cracks due to a story the Stockton native is all too familiar with.

Mere hours after the UFC president announced the tentative second meeting between the two welterweights, Cesar Gracie, Diaz’s mentor, told MMA Junkie that the rematch would not take place, but refused to comment as to why. "I have been told not to comment on anything” said Cesar. Nevada State Athletic Commissioner Keith Kizer later teased an announcement that all fighters tested for performance enhancing drugs were cleared, with one sole exception.

Given Diaz’s very public advocacy of marijuana and prior violations, it didn’t take long for fans to put two and two together. Independent media figure “Front Row Brian” announced earlier today that Diaz had once again tested positive for marijuana use; Kizer released a statement validating the story, saying: “Mr. Diaz tested positive for marijuana metabolites. A complaint for disciplinary action against Mr. Diaz has been filed.”

The violation has forced the Cesar Gracie black belt out of his second UFC title shot. Dana White released a statement saying, "I am beyond disappointed that he tested positive for marijuana," said White. "It is now in the hands of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.”

This being his second offense, Diaz will likely suffer a more severe punishment than the six-month suspension he faced after defeating Takanori Gomi at Pride 33 in February of 2007. After a hard fought battle in the first round, Diaz was able to outlast the then Pride lightweight titleholder and submit him with the first gogoplata in MMA history. Diaz then found what was the biggest win of his career overturned by the NSAC.

It is still unclear as to what sentencing Diaz, who shared his desire to retire with the world after the loss to Condit, will receive. Unfortunately, the UFC and fans alike are now deprived of a big-money rematch between the two.