Nate Diaz, Jorge Masvidal Fight Back on for UFC 244
Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal will still be fighting at UFC 244 next weekend. After publicly announcing he was off the card on Thursday, Diaz received word on Friday he was eligible to compete at the event.
The fight is ON!!! I 100% knew Nate wasn't taking anything to cheat. #UFC244 November 2, MSG. #BMF pic.twitter.com/U9VEOPT0Ul
— Dana White (@danawhite) October 26, 2019
Diaz took to Twitter on Thursday and announced he had tested positive for "elevated levels" of a banned substance. In the statement he pulled himself off the card and denied taking anything that could have led to the positive test, even accidentally.
On Friday evening, ESPN's Brett Okamoto announced the fight with Masvidal was back on after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency rule Diaz had not committed an anti-doping violation.
Breaking: Nate Diaz is eligible to compete at UFC 244. USADA has ruled he has not committed an anti-doping violation. Elevated level of SARMS was traced to a contaminated organic, vegan, plant-based daily multivitamin.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) October 26, 2019
UFC Chief Legal Officer Hunter Campbell says he has "every reason to believe" Diaz will still fight in New York.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) October 26, 2019
It appears the commission and UFC president Dana White believed Diaz and will be letting him fight. To his credit, even Masvidal believed Diaz was clean the whole time and offered to fight him despite the failed test:
You not the baddest mofo in the game (i am) but you are one of the cleanest mofo’s @NateDiaz209 I’ll see you nov 2. I know your name is clean. I don’t need @usantidoping to tell me shit!
— Jorge Masvidal UFC (@GamebredFighter) October 24, 2019
Diaz last fought in August at UFC 241, where he won a dominant unanimous decision against Anthony Pettis. He immediately called out Masvidal, who last fought in July at UFC 239, where he knocked out Ben Askren in just five seconds. The two will be fighting for the BMF Title, which obviously stands for "Baddest Mother F***er." And yes, the winner of the fight will be getting an actual belt.