Nate Diaz: banned from the UFC for vaping CBD?

Last Saturday, Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz met for the second time in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Diaz, who won the first meeting, lost this time on points. But the match ended on a controversial cannabis note. Diaz smoked cannabidiol (CBD) on a vaporizer during his post-match interview, which could lead to his exclusion from the UFC.

UFC fighters are, in fact, subject to the same doping test thresholds than the Olympic Games. Which means that when the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) raised the detection limit for cannabinoids from 15 nanograms to 150, Michael Phelps wasn't the only one happy - Nate Diaz was too.

And not really for the plant's recreational side, but more for CBD's healing potential, which could replace conventional painkillers. Problem: the change in WADA rules, taken over by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), allow cannabis use 6 hours before a fight, and at least 6 hours afterwards.

So Diaz was blatantly using his vape pen during the post-match interview, which he confirmed to a reporter on the spot: «It's CBD. It helps the healing and inflammation process. So I use it before and after fights or training. It makes life easier.

Although we suspect that Diaz honestly believed that he was not under suspicion of doping for consuming a non-addictive, non-psychoactive substance, WADA's tests look not only at THC but at all cannabinoids, with an overall maximum threshold of 150 nanograms per milliliter of blood.

AMA could therefore exclude Diaz from the UFC, at least for a while. On the one hand, we have a fighter who is officially breaking the rules, and on the other, post-fight consumption that didn't change the outcome of the match. So what will WADA decide? The most advanced decision would be to consider CBD in the same way as painkillers, which are accepted.

All this didn't stop Nate Diaz from partying with Snoop Dogg in San Francisco right after his fight and posting a snap of a massive blunt.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJsGCAwBqca/