Hyden's Take
HYDEN BLOG: Nick Diaz's Failed Drug Test, and Recent MMA News Quick Hits
Feb 15, 2012 - 10:15:15 AM HYDEN BLOG: Nick Diaz's Failed Drug Test, and Recent MMA News Quick Hits

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By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor

Nick Diaz tested positive for marijuana from his UFC 143 drug test last week, and he's facing a lengthy suspension and fine. To start off, I think marijuana should be legalized;I don't smoke marijuana myself and never have, but I have a major problem with it being illegal while alcohol can be bought practically anywhere and is advertised on television like it's no big deal. You can easily die from alcohol poisoning; it's impossible to overdose on marijuana. There's also the issue of drunk driving and a litany of other reasons I could give as to why alcohol is much more dangerous than marijuana. However, I don't want to get on my soapbox for too long without bringing this back to MMA.

I would like someone to explain to me how smoking marijuana gave Nick Diaz any type of advantage in his fight with Carlos Condit at UFC 143? The only thing I can think of is that it would have enabled him to stay more relaxed during the fight. There's a couple of problems with that reasoning, though. First, it may make you too relaxed and possibly induce lethargy. That would be the opposite of what you wanted. Also, when you're in front of that many screaming fans, I don't think a little marijuana is going to help you chill out. The second problem is that we don't know when Nick smoked this marijuana. He may have smoked it two weeks ago, but it was still in his system.

I have yet to hear a valid reason about marijuana giving someone a competitive advantage. This is about more than Nick Diaz, this encompasses all of athletic history. If someone can give me a good reason, e-mail it to me, I would like to know.

A question some may be asking is why do I care so much? I don't smoke the stuff, so why is this so important to me? The answer is simple, I believe in personal liberty. As long as you don't cause harm to other people, I don't care what you do as long as you're over the age of 18. It's the same way with seatbelts in vehicles. I don't think a person over the age of 18 should be required to wear a seatbelt. I definitely think everyone should wear one, but it shouldn't be a crime to not wear one. That's because you're not hurting anyone but yourself (Ok, technically, that's not true because if you die from not wearing a seatbelt you're hurting your family and friends emotionally, but you have to draw the line somewhere).

Nick Diaz smoked some marijuana sometime before his fight with Carlos Condit at UFC 143. I don't when he did it, but I'm convinced that it didn't provide him any advantage in his fight. This isn't a PED we're dealing with here.

With all that said, I want to hit upon one final thing, though: Nick Diaz needs to take full blame for this positive test. Whether you agree with it or not, Nick knew that a positive test would be severely damaging to him. To do something so stupid before a huge fight is just inexcusable. He has to know better. Diaz is young, but he wasn't born yesterday. This is also the second time he's tested positive for marijuana. Stuff like this makes you question his commitment to fighting.

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Junior dos Santos said recently that he believes that he will knock out Alistair Overeem when they fight for the UFC Heavyweight Title at UFC 146. I absolutely agree with that. At times Overeem has looked impressive, but dos Santos is a really good boxer. He's also aggressive. Overeem has looked very tentative at times, and I think JDS takes advantage of that.

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Jake Ellenberger fights Diego Sanchez at UFC On Fuel TV 1 tonight. Ellenberger recently said that Diego uses a "stupid guy pace" and that he's going to get hurt. First off, those comments make Ellenberger sound like a meathead. Diego pushes the pace and uses his cardio to wear down his opponents. I wouldn't call that a "stupid guy pace."

My prediction for this fight is that Diego wins by decision. I don't think Ellenberger can keep pace with Diego. He's not fighting a distraught Jake Shields who's still mourning the sudden loss of his father here, he's fighting a relentless pit bull. I'm not a big Diego Sanchez fan, all that Tony Robbins positive thinking crap is ridiculous, but I respect him a fighter. I think Diego will outwork him and earn a close decision victory.

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Matt Brown fights Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson at UFC 145. Thompson has an undefeated record in kickboxing and MMA. Brown is unimpressed with Thompson's credentials. This is what Brown had to say recently, "I'm not too concerned with this guy's kickboxing. I can go 100-0 beating a bunch of idiots, but that's not my style."

Here's another guy who sounds like a meathead. Thompson has 57 wins in kickboxing and six in MMA. You have to give the guy some credit for that. I don't care what you're doing, when you win that many times in a row without losing, you're doing something right. No one is saying that you have to bow down to Thompson, but don't be so dismissive of an opponent. Brown's claims of being able to go 100-0 make him sound delusional. Brown is a decent fighter, but come on, let's be real.

Brown will look like an even bigger knob if he gets knocked out by Thompson, which is what I think will happen. When you talk big, you better be ready to back it up.


Comments and suggestions can be e-mailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com