MMA Weekly reports:
Bill Douglas, Assistant Executive Officer of CSAC, on Saturday informed MMAWeekly.com that Diaz had not been licensed and the situation would be "a challenging process."
On Monday, Diaz's manager, Cesar Gracie, said his fighter had an informal agreement with former CSAC executive officer Armando Garcia that precluded random drug testing. Diaz, a resident of Stockton, Calif., currently holds a medical marijuana license under the state's Compassionate Use Act of 1996 and Medical Marijuana Program Act. Garcia departed the agency last November.
"They changed it without any notification," said Gracie. "No one had any time. The old guys were doing things based off of California law, and I knew California law didn't change. He's licensed... it's legal. They're own legal team came out with a ruling that said (compassionate use was allowed). Then all of a sudden they're saying we're doing drug tests, and cannabis is included, it's not just performance enhancers. To flush it out of his system, it takes 10 days, and we don't have that."
MMA Junkie has the news on the substitute for the now non-title bout:
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker today confirmed with MMAjunkie.com that former "The Ultimate Fighter 7" contestant Jesse Taylor (13-3) will now face Diaz's original opponent, Jay Hieron.
A story breaking in the LA Times a few days ago raises the specter of continued problems at the CSAC:
The promoter of a mixed martial arts card March 7 in Tulare, Calif., confirmed Friday that one of the competitors was allowed to fight despite testing positive for Hepatitis C and having no test results on file for HIV.
Al Joslin, who has promoted nine cards in California, said he learned of the situation about a week ago, when he was leaked a copy of a memo from the California State Athletic Commission. The commission is responsible for medical clearance of all MMA and boxing shows in the state.
The Times also received an electronic copy of the memo, and confirmed its authenticity with a source who has knowledge of the situation but was not authorized to speak publicly.
"I am aware of it, and I'm very troubled by it," Joslin said. "I'm very concerned the commission never contacted us. When we found out, we hit the ceiling.
Nick Diaz is clearly responsible for his own actions, but after the surprise drug test of Josh Barnett he should have been prepared. Someone at the CSAC is clearly singling out high-profile MMA fighters who have checkered histories for special scrutiny.