Fighter the latest to fall foul of the promotion’s code of conduct.
Nate Diaz has been suspended pending an internal UFC investigation after tweeting a derogatory homosexual slur in relation to a fellow fighter.
In response to the tweet, UFC president Dana White said Diaz could be fined, suspended or possibly cut from the roster.
I feel bad for pat Healy that they took a innocent mans money and I think the guy who took the money is the biggest Fag in the world ..
— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) May 16, 2013
Diaz’s tweet was in regards to Pat Healy losing his Fight of the Night bonus of $130,000 when a post-fight drug test came back for marijuana.
As a result of Healy’s positive test, the UFC gave half of the bonus money to his opponent Bryan Caraway and the fight was ruled a no-contest.
“We are very disappointed by Nate Diaz’s comments, which are in no way reflective of our organisation,” a UFC statement said.
“Nate is currently suspended pending internal investigation and we will provide further comment once the matter has been decided.”
Diaz’s suspension is the latest incident for the UFC after it instilled a code of conduct clause specifically in relation to discriminatory or derogatory language.
Earlier this year Matt Mitrione was suspended for an offensive rant aimed at transgendered fighter Fallon Fox, however, his ban lasted a mere three weeks.
Diaz’s manager Mike Kogan defended his clients choice of words, saying it was not meant as a slur but rather he used the offensive word in the context of how it used on the streets.
“Nate voiced a personal opinion about an incident that took place involving Bryan Caraway in which he chased Dana all over Twitter to try to get a bonus, which was taken away from Pat Healy, got the bonus, and then had the nerve to go back out there and bash the guy and talk s–t about weed-smoking and how much he hates it and how it’s wrong, which was, at best, a s–t move on his side,” Kogan said.
“Guess what? The word f—-t, at least in Northern California, and where Nate is from, means you’re a little punk. It has nothing to do with homosexuals at all. So when Nate made the comment that he made, he didn’t make it in reference to homosexuals or calling Caraway a homosexual. He just said it was a bitch move.”
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