Jon Fitch: The NSAC probably expected Nick Diaz to kiss their ass

Not long after Jon Fitch criticized the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) for not teaching Rousimar Palhares a lesson for his antics at Bellator 141, the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) title contender took aim at the commission once again.

This time, Fitch is blasting the NSAC for the way the group handled the Nick Diaz situation, suspending the troubled fighter for five years and fining him a total of $165,000 for failing his third drug test for marijuana after his bout against Anderson Silva at UFC 183 earlier this year.

Full details here.

As Jon recently told MMA Fighting, has Diaz "kissed the ass" of the NSAC, he would have probably been handed a lighter sentence.

"It's could've been that's what they were looking for, was an ass-kissing. They wanted somebody to kiss their boots. They'll pat you on the head, then after you kiss their boots, they give you a lighter sentence. Who knows? I mean, it'd be really corrupt and telling if that was it, and me speaking about this now, if consequences come down on me, we'll all know that there's some serious truth to it. I think fighters are starting to have enough. We've had enough of being treated the way we're treated. We're race horses who get sent out to the glue factory when our career is done, or when they decide our career is done. It's just sad, especially when you contrast the Nick Diaz situation, no fighters' association to help him out and have his back, to Tom Brady and the NFL Players' Association having his back and getting the suspension overturned. It's a clear symbol of, this is what happens when you have an association. This is what happens when you do not. Right? You have a lifetime ban, pretty much, versus nothing."

Fitch isn't the only fighter to express his disappointment, as plenty of prominent figures in the mixed martial arts (MMA) community have voice their disdain for the punishment handed out to Diaz.

Among them is UFC flyweight Henry Cejudo, who recently declared he would no longer fight in the state of Nevada following Nick's suspension.

As for Fitch -- who is one of the person involved in the current class-action lawsuit against UFC -- says Nick's suspension is further proof that their needs to be a fighter's union in MMA to protect he and his colleagues and hopes this incident is the final blow that finally unifies all fighters.

"It's been turning for a while. I think this is just giving it media attention. We've been working really hard behind the scenes and things are going a lot better than we'll even let on to other people publicly right now, because we can't allow anybody else to get their heads chopped off because they've been exposed.The opinion with fighters across the board has been pretty consistent with this. But you've got to remember that this didn't come out of the blue, right? Gradual pushes. Gradual pushes over the past few years. When I was released by Zuffa, a lot of things started, because I had guys who were big name guys who I'd never even talked to, reach out and talk to me about how scared they were about how their career was in jeopardy. They're afraid to lose now, because they don't know what's going to happen. They could get cut at any time. And then the stuff with the sponsors and Reebok, and now the USADA stuff getting forced down their throats, now the Nick Diaz situation. It's been building and building and building, so hopefully this is the straw that will really unify all the fighters."

And it looks like Fitch may be right...