Lawyer for Nick Diaz wants deputy attorney general ousted from NAC drug test hearing

The ongoing saga between Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight Nick Diaz has appeared to hit a new snag.

In case you've been living under a rock, 209's finest was found to have smoked too much ganja prior to fighting the currently suspended Anderson Silva at the UFC 183 pay-per-view (PPV) event back on Jan. 31, 2015 inside MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Diaz's levels on a fight night drug test were more than double the Nevada limit of 150 ng/ml and it was his third offense under the commission's watch. Read more about his previous infraction here.

Apparently, Diaz's smoking habits have gone through the roof.

Now, after another postponement, a conflict, and a very short stint in jail for his DUI arrest settlement, the 32-year-old's lawyer, Lucas Middlebrook, will be asking for the removal of Nevada deputy attorney general Christopher Eccles when the two sides meet this Monday (Sept. 14, 2015).

According to documents obtained by MMA Fighting, Eccles was contacted by Diaz's manager, Lloyd Pierson, prior to Jan. 31 about acquiring a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for marijuana. If such is true, Eccles would be considered a witness and an advocate, which is a no-no in court.

"Now that is a contested issue to which Chris Eccles is a witness," Middlebrook said. "In all jurisdictions, for the conduct of lawyers' professional responsibility, you can't act as an advocate and as a witness in the same proceeding. I may take issue with that at commencement of the hearing."

Eccles also wrote that Pierson told him that Diaz "had problems obtaining a negative test result," which is why he inquired about the TUE. The NAC filed a subpoena for the former Strikeforce welterweight champion's pre-fight test results to which Middlebrook countered with a motion to dismiss.

Being that this was Diaz's third offense, he was required to pee clean before his UFC 183 headliner. Middlebrook said those test results are null and void because the failing threshold is less than NAC's 150 ng/ml limit, by at least half.

He also added that UFC told Diaz his pre-fight results would remain confidential and that he was directed by the promotion to file a motion to dismiss NAC's subpoena.

Alas, Diaz's team has not provided the pre-fight results, while the NAC has yet to respond to Middlebrook's motion.

Stay with MMAmania.com for more updates on the ongoing (and messy) battle between Diaz's legal team and the NAC.