Today at noon Eastern Time (9:00 a.m. Pacific Time, which is local time in Nevada), the Nevada Athletic Commission is holding their monthly meeting. This is the most eventful meeting in a while, which you can see from the meeting’s agenda on the commission’s website (PDF). Not only is the meeting scheduled to include a re-hearing on Wanderlei Silva fleeing a drug test (he successfully appealed his lifetime suspension), but there will be a hearing on a “motion for reconsideration and proposed settlement agreement” in Nick Diaz’s case. The commission suspended Diaz for five years for testing positive for marijuana after his fight with Anderson Silva a year ago, even though he had negative tests (done at a more sensitive lab) that night before and after the fight.
The hearing will also include mandatory in-person license applications from fighters who are at least 35 years old, including Josh Burkman, Roy Nelson, Mike Pyle, and UFC Heavyweight Champion Fabricio Werdum. Invicta FC also has some business on the agenda about their upcoming events.
The hearing is being streamed on UFC Fight Pass, and we’ll keep you updated here with ongoing coverage of the MMA matters as the hearing goes on.
12:02 p.m. ET: They’re still waiting for the commission chairperson before the meeting can start.
12:08 p.m. ET: “Everyone on the telephone, the meeting is running 20 minutes late. Please hang up and call back at 9:20.” Well, OK then.
12:24 p.m. ET: We’ve finally started…
12:25 p.m. ET: Wanderlei Silva’s lawyer is claiming that his rights of due process are being violated by the delays of his hearing, and the hearing has been delayed AGAIN. The commission “is not comfortable with what’s been negotiated” and there will be a hearing for sure next month in February. Apparently, there’s been a staff turnover at the commission and they need time to prepare.
12:27 p.m. ET: Ross Goodman (Silva’s lawyer): “You just can’t hold this hearing hostage.” Commissioner Pat Lundvall says she’d want to ask Silva questions, but Goodman says he’ll never appear at a rehearing. Lundvall says that this is the first time this has been declared. Goodman will be heard in February.
12:29 p.m. ET: Nick Diaz time.
12:30 p.m. ET: The Diaz settlement has been approved…but nobody said what the terms are. Huh. Well, I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
12:34 p.m. ET: Here’s what MMA Junkie’s John Morgan, who’s at the meeting, has to add about the Diaz issue:
Bennett told me they don’t have any additional copies of the settlement for us to review. So I guess we have to wait until this is over?
— John Morgan (@MMAjunkieJohn) January 12, 2016
The settlement apparently needs to be redacted before it can be distributed. Guess we can ask during public comment, perhaps?
— John Morgan (@MMAjunkieJohn) January 12, 2016
12:36 p.m. ET: Officials have been selected for UFC 196. Invicta got approval to have 20 fighters on their next card. In the UFC 196 main event, John McCarthy will referee while the judges will be Sal D’Amoto, Marcos Rosales, and Glenn Trowbridge.
12:38 p.m. ET: Looks like mostly boxing for a little bit now. Also, worth pointing out they didn’t open up the line to public comment after approving the Diaz settlement.
12:39 p.m. ET: From ESPN’s Brett Okamoto:
Source with NICK DIAZ tells me settlement is 18 month suspension from time of the Anderson Silva fight. $100k fine.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) January 12, 2016
12:43 p.m. ET: MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani confirmed Okamoto’s report and adds more details:
The terms of Nick Diaz's settlement with Nevada are: 18 month suspension and 100k fine, per multiple sources. He's free to fight on 8/1/16.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 12, 2016
Same that we reported months ago. They couldn't get Diaz on the tests but they got him on not accurately filing out the questionnaire.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 12, 2016
12:44 p.m. ET: We’ve adjourned. Not sure why the 35+ fighters weren’t heard on their license applications.
