Nate Diaz is a one-off as he showed by casually sparking up a blunt during the press conference for UFC 263 on the eve of his fight against Britain's Leon Edwards.
The 36-year-old welterweight was taking advantage of local laws in Arizona, where the event is taking place and where marijuana is legal for recreational use. The UFC also announced a chance in their anti-doping policy at the start of this year and a positive test for cannabis is no longer considered a violation.
So naturally Diaz took advantage by lighting up and smoking a joint midway through the presser, while reporters continued to ask questions.
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya - headlining the event with a rematch against Marvin Vettori - sniffed the air and looked somewhat surprised before breaking into laughter.
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Dana White, who must be used to Diaz's unique ways by now, just shook his head on the dais.
When asked by the media what he was smoking, Diaz answered that it was his own brand of mary jane.
"That's Kill_4209," Diaz said. "That's the chronic, right there baby. You already know what's up."
That was about as long an answer as any of the press got from Diaz as the MMA cult hero fielded questions ahead of his fight against 170lb contender Edwards, who's unbeaten since 2015.
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This is Diaz's first fight since he was stopped due to a cut against Jorge Masvidal in 2019.
Jeff Novitzky, the Senior Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance for the UFC, confirmed that the Arizona State Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts Commission would be adapting rules for marijuana that are used in the UFC's anti-doping program.
"Great working with AZ Commission, who are adopting our testing program/rules for this weekend," Novitzky tweeted.
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"Only issue with marijuana (THC) for Saturday's fights is don't show up impaired or under the influence. How it should be!"
Let's hope 'Stockton Slugger' Nate Diaz gets the memo.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Nate Diaz, Leon Edwards, UFC, MMA
