Nate Diaz has been suspended indefinitely pending an internal investigation after he let rip on Twitter with a homophobic slur. He is the latest fighter on the UFC roster to fall afoul of the newly-instituted code of conduct, and used social media as a tool to vent his wrath. Diaz’s Twitter slur comes in the wake of Matt Mitrione’s three-week suspension and fining after he publicly ranted about transgender fighter Fallon Fox.
Diaz, who most recently lost to Josh Thomson by TKO at UFC on Fox 7, took to Twitter to address Pat Healy‘s positive test for marijuana. Healy was stripped of his UFC 159 Submission of the Night bonus, which he earned for his impeccable third-round rear-naked-choke finish, as well as his Fight of the Night cheque, and his win against Jim Miller was also overturned. In addition to the loss of his awards, he has also been suspended and docked $130,000, which is no small change, and is similar to the incredible size of the great jackpots you might win at a mobile casino.
Diaz tweeted his support for and defended Healy, but he expressed his distaste for the situation by using a homophobic slur, which got him into serious trouble. Diaz stated that he felt bad for Healy, who he claimed is innocent, and that the guy who took his money was “the biggest fag in the world.” It seems the inflammatory statement was intended to insult Bryan Caraway, who was awarded the Submission of the Night bonus for his fight after Healy was stripped of the bonus money.
Shortly after the tweet was spotted, UFC officials took action and suspended Diaz indefinitely until they have a chance to fully investigate the situation. But sadly Diaz’s troubles could be far bigger than just suspension. UFC president Dana White said they will either fine, suspend or cut him, and the choice had not yet been made, but if Diaz is cut it could be due to the fact that the UFC needs to make an example of someone to reinforce their new behavioural codes and show they are serious.
Diaz’s manager, Mike Kogan, maintains that Diaz did not intend to offend anyone or use the term in a homophobic context, but he simply used it as a slang term to express his fury. The UFC will make their ruling within the next few days after Diaz returns from Germany.
