Nate Diaz Sparks Up Joint Ahead of UFC 241

Even after a three-year hiatus, Nate Diaz still knows how to spark up drama. The UFC lightweight, who gained mainstream notoriety for tapping out Dana White’s favorite child Conor McGregor in early 2016, lit up a joint four days before his scheduled bout with Anthony Pettis at UFC 241 on Saturday, August 17.

The incident took place in Anaheim, CA, at the UFC open workouts. As he walked to the mat, Diaz removed a pre-rolled joint from his pocket, tossed the crowd a few lighters, lit up, and then passed the doobie to one lucky fan.

Marijuana, though legal in California, is a banned substance in UFC by way of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which manages the UFC’s anti-doping rules. (Just ask Nate’s older brother Nick, who was banned in 2013 for testing positive for marijuana after a loss to Anderson Silva.) Diaz, however, revealed in a media scrum that the joint contained CBD, which is the non-psychoactive chemical in cannabis plants that helps athletes recover and reduce inflammation. 

This tracks, since the Diaz duo is involved in Game Up, a plant-based nutrition company that sells, among other herbal remedies—CBD. Also, the UFC in July announced a partnership with Aurora Cannabis to let the Canadian-based companies research the effects of CBD on fighters. 

In other words: Diaz was smoking in the name of science. 

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