LAS VEGAS, NV - JANUARY 31: (R-L) Nick Diaz taunts Anderson Silva in their middleweight bout during the UFC 183 event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on January 31, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
UFC Tonight reached out to Nevada governor Brian Sandoval recently for comment on his state athletic commission's controversial suspension of Nick Diaz. The five-year suspension handed down by the commission to welterweight Diaz earlier this month followed unusual and possibly mishandled testing of Diaz, and a subsequent hearing which saw the state ignore its own recently self-approved guidelines for drug test failures without explanation.
Nick Diaz's strange punishment from the Nevada State Athletic Commission has been criticized by everyone from fellow UFC fighters boycotting the state, to Ronda Rousey, to reportedly the UFC's own new drug czar. Diaz has said on Twitter that the UFC is helping him get in touch with their own legal representation and over 60,000 people have signed a White House petition to have Diaz's suspension addressed by President Barack Obama.
Through his communications manager Mari St. Martin, the governor did not express a desire to "second guess" the state commission's process or ruling in Diaz's case. "The Governor puts great thought into his appointments and has an expectation that his appointees will represent the state with integrity and serve as fair and impartial members of their respective board or commission," St. Martin said.
"The Nevada State Athletic Commission has sole jurisdiction over licensing of its contestants. The Governor's Office monitors all board and commissions to ensure they are in compliance with state law but does not second guess individual rulings within the boundaries of statutory authority."
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