NSAC: Nick Diaz's UFC 143 fine officially amounted to $79,500

[BluenoseGreig]

A full five months since his loss to Carlos Condit in the UFC 143 main event, Nick Diaz is still a point of discussion.

Initially, after Diaz failed a drug test due to marijuana metabolites, the Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended him one year and fined him 30 percent of his fight purse.

But NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer today confirmed with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) the fine was more than the originally reported $60,000.

Diaz (27-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC) who announced his retirement after the fight, was paid a disclosed flat sum of $200,000 for his interim title fight with Condit (28-5 MMA, 5-1 UFC). He lost the bout, which took place Feb. 4 in Las Vegas, via unanimous decision.

A 30 percent fine on his $200,000 purse would've added up to $60,000. But Kizer said the actual fine was $79,500.

As ESPN.com's Brett Okamoto first reported, Diaz was paid a bonus of $300,000 for media- and publicity-related commitments for the fight. (Fans may remember that Diaz cost himself a scheduled title shot with Georges St-Pierre in October after he no-showed a pair of pre-event press conferences.) According to Kizer, in addition to the $60,000 fine from his disclosed fight purse, Diaz was fined $19,500 (30 percent) of a $65,000 bonus. That likely was a smaller portion of the larger $300,000 bonus. (Had he been fined on the full $300,000 bonus and his $200,000 disclosed purse, Diaz's total fine would have come to $150,000.)

As MMAjunkie.com recently reported, a three-hour NSAC meeting back in May did nothing to shorten the length of the suspension or Diaz's fine. The commission upheld both.

The NSAC also fined and suspended Diaz in 2007 following a fight with Takanori Gomi at PRIDE 33 in Las Vegas. Some commissioners pointed to his repeat-offender status as a reason they didn't lighten the punishment for the UFC 143 failed test.

Diaz is eligible to apply for a license in Nevada on Feb. 4, 2013, though he'll need to pass a drug test to get licensed. Until Nevada clears him, Diaz is unlikely to get licensed by other commissions.

While the 28-year-old currently is retired, most fans expect Diaz to make a return to the cage at some point once the suspension runs its course.

http://mmajunkie.com/news/29477/nsac...d-to-79500.mma

[Rich Davie]

That's one expensive smoking session !