Sean Sheehan 
After months of speculation, threatening court cases and online petitions there was finally some movement in the Nick Diaz/Nevada state athletic commission (NSAC) case today.
On September 14, 2015, Diaz was suspended by the NSAC for 5 years and was fined $165,000 but today that ban, according to ESPN’s Brett Okomoto, was reduced to 18 months with the fine also falling to $100,000.
The initial ban, which was levied upon Diaz for a failed drug test for marijuana metabolites following his UFC 183 bout with Anderson Silva, was met with much incredulity in the community for its harshness. A feeling which was escalated by Diaz’s opponent, Anderson Silva, failing a test at the same event for steroids and only getting banned for one year.
The reason Diaz was given the longer ban was because of him being a repeat offender but, due to the non performance enhancing nature of the substance, cooler heads have now prevailed and Diaz will be able to return in late 2016.
