Nate Diaz’s UFC 244 power play was a BMF move exposing another USADA issue

Esther Lin, MMA FightingOn Friday night, when most of the East coast was already fast asleep, the UFC released the good news that Nate Diaz had been cleared to compete at UFC 244. Diaz, they said, had not committed a violation of the UFC’s anti-doping policy while unintentionally ingesting the substance LGD-4033, and so, the BMF fight with Jorge Masvidal is apparently on. (Officially, the New York Athletic Commission will have the final say, but is not expected to object his participation.)

The UFC-USADA joint declaration of innocence, which Diaz demanded in order to fight, ended a whirlwind 30-hour stretch that began with Diaz publicly stating the result of an adverse finding in his most…