Nate Diaz has never been quiet about his love for marijuana. Now, he can be even less quiet about it. Recently, the Arizona boxing and MMA commission adopted new rules relating to marijuana and testing for athletes. In light of those new rules, Diaz happily smoked his way through a UFC 263 pre-fight press conference on Thursday.
Jeff Novitsky, the UFC’s Senior VP of Athlete Health and Performance, confirmed the rule change on Twitter. According to Novitsky, athletes will not be tested or fined for THC; the only limitation is that they cannot be impaired on fight night.
According to MMA Fighting, Diaz was smoking his own strain of marijuana, Kill_4209.
Hailing from Stockton, CA (hence the “209” area code in his strain of cannabis), Nate Diaz is one of MMA’s most adored figures, and his love of cannabis is no small part of that. On Saturday, he’ll square off with Leon Edwards, the UFC’s no. 3-ranked welterweight contender. Diaz comes into the bout following a doctor stoppage loss to Jorge Masvidal in November 2019. Prior to that, he beat former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis by decision.
How to watch: UFC 263 takes place on Saturday, June 12. The main card, featuring Nate Diaz vs. Leon Edwards, will air on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
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