Earlier, we told you about how both UFC flyweight contender/Oympic Gold Medalist Henry Cejudo and UFC bantamweight contender Aljamain Sterling are refusing to fight in Nevada. Not only are they doing this in protest of the state athletic commission suspending Nick Diaz for five years over a questionable marijuana test failure, but they fear unfair treatment if they ever needed to appear before the commission.
The latest fighter to make such a statement is UFC women’s bantamweight fighter Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith. Best known for her gruesome ear injury last year in her fight with Jessica Eye, Smith is a former teammate of Diaz’s as part of Cesar Gracie Jiu Jitsu, and was even given the affectionate fan nickname “Chick Diaz” for the aggressive fighting style reminiscent Nick. She posted the following on her Squor account:
I am making a statement and will stand with my fellow fighters Nick Diaz, and Henry Cejudo and refuse to fight in Nevada while this draconian and arbitrary punishment against Nick is in place. This situation is just the latest example demonstrating the need for mixed martial artists to stand together, to influence our sport, and have our voices heard by speaking together as the mixed martial arts fighters association.
Besides the issue of fighters and many fans seeing marijuana use as unfairly demonized, there is concern about the veracity of the test that led to the suspension in the first place. On the night of the fight, Diaz Took three tests, the middle one was the only one he failed (at over five tims the legal limit), and he passed the other two easily (at less than half the legal limit). The positive test was also tested at a different lab.
Smith currently has no fight scheduled.
