Several fighters came out to express their shock, disappointment or to flat out mock Nate Diaz after he revealed that he is pulling himself out of his scheduled UFC 244 fight against Jorge Masvidal as a result of a failed drug test. While Diaz has maintained his innocence and kept some details of the test itself to himself, the Stockton slugger is adamant he will not be flying to New York City to fight “Gamebred” for the “BMF” title on Nov. 2, 2019.
In his post, a rather upset Diaz demanded that either Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) or United States Anti Doping Agency (USADA) fix the issue to clear his name.
Among the many who took to social media to react to Diaz’s situation was current UFC Light Heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, who has long maintained his innocence throughout his constant issues with USADA.
“And just like that, years of hard work discredited overnight, with one phone call,” wrote Jones on Twitter. “Not many people in the world know what you’re feeling right now, I do. Keep your head up man. I knew I was innocent and was willing to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and countless hours with scientists and lawyers to prove it.”
“I know you feel like someone is setting you up, that’s exactly how I felt. At times it’s going to feel like a pretty hopeless situation but maybe it’s not, you can’t just give up and do nothing. This is a different type of fight man, you owe it to your fans to fight it.”
Indeed, the story of Jones and picograms dominated headlines over the last few years, so if anyone knows a thing or three about these types of situations, it’s “Bones.”
Interestingly enough, Diaz had quite the reaction when he was asked about Jones failing a drug test a few years back, as he simply shook his head and proclaimed that “everybody is on steroids.”
As of this writing, UFC officials have yet to confirm whether or not Diaz is indeed out of his scheduled Welterweight showdown against Masvidal.
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 244 fight card this weekend RIGHT HERE, starting with the Fight Pass/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN 2 at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 244: “Masvidal vs. Diaz” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
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