Diaz’s lawyer not as confident about settlement
Lucas Middlebrook: “It made me a little cautious about going there without preparing a case as well…you might as well take your best shot, right?”
Nick Diaz and his team will have to have their day in front of the Nevada State Athletic Commission for Diaz’s positive drug test at UFC 183, but his lawyer is not as confident on a settlement:
Middlebrook was on the phone during the NAC meeting in May and heard the commission ask boxer John Molina, who tested positive for diuretics, to present his case even though Molina’s attorney had a deal in place with Eccles. The NAC rejected the settlement and postponed Molina’s disciplinary hearing to a future date.
“I was on the phone listening to this thinking, Well, this is a little concerning,” Middlebrook told MMAFighting.com. “You’re going to agree to a settlement with Eccles only to show up and have them say to present your case?”
Middlebrook said he asked Eccles about the Molina case and he was told that the circumstances of the two cases are different. Diaz failed a fight night drug test at UFC 183 for marijuana, his third such offense in Nevada. Molina tested positive for diuretics, a more serious infraction.
Middlebrook said he is not currently in settlement discussions with Eccles, but will continue to leave the door open for some kind of deal. Either way, Middlebrook will prepare a defense for Diaz and expects the hearing to come up in either August or September, most likely the latter.
“It made me a little cautious about going there without preparing a case as well,” Middlebrook said of the Molina situation. … “If they’re going to make you present your case anyway, you might as well take your best shot, right?”