The battle for the Baddest Motherfucker in the Game will not be happening at UFC 244, as Nate Diaz has pulled out of the event. The 34-year-old welterweight provided a strange explanation for his withdrawal from the fight against Jorge Masvidal on Twitter, which included a claim that UFC asked him to keep the results of a drug test quiet.
Im not gonna make it out to NYC for fight week next week because they say I tested with elevated levels that they say might be from some tainted supplements. I call false on that cause I only take Whole Food or natural food supplements. I don’t even eat meat. So until UFC, Usada or whoever is FUCKING with me Fixes it, I won’t be competing. Im not gonna play their game and try to hide it or keep quite (sic), as they suggested. I’m not gonna have my name tainted as a cheater like these other motherfuckers who keep quiet until after the fight just so they can get paid. fuckin’ cheaters.
I don’t give a fuck about some money over my dignity and my legacy. I’m not playing along with this bullshit.
I’m not staying quiet and figuring it out after the fight. That’s cheating.
So fight game I’ll see you when I see you.
Sincerely,
The real baddest mother fucker in the game.
This is, bar none, one of the strangest denials of using performance-enhancing drugs in the history of sports. Diaz appears to be so committed to maintaining his image as a non-steroid user that he’s not just willing to sacrifice this upcoming main event bout with Masvidal, he appears to be willing to put his career on hold for it too—what else are we supposed to infer from “I’ll see you when I see you”? A strange, protracted absence would not be without precedent.
As of this posting, neither Masvidal nor UFC have said anything about this situation. We will update this post with more related information as it becomes available.
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