UFC president Dana White admits he doesn't know how the Nevada State Athletic Commission is going to handle the failed UFC 143 drug test of top welterweight Nick Diaz.
But after observing what White considers incomprehensibly inconsistent recent handling of boxer Floyd Mayweather and UFC middleweight Chael Sonnen, the UFC boss is praying for fair treatment.
"We'll see what happens," White told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) following Wednesday's UFC on FUEL TV 1 event in Omaha, Neb. "We'll see if inconsistency prevails again."
White's frustrations with the NSAC include his usual gripes: judges and referees that need better education and execution of their responsibilities. But more importantly, White points to the commission's recent directives for Mayweather and Sonnen as prime examples of how everything is certainly not equal.
"How about the Nevada State Athletic Commission royally kissed Floyd Mayweather's ass when he walked in there," White said. "This guy is going to jail. The judge is allowing him to not go to jail until he has his fight. Right?
"Now Chael Sonnen was not allowed to coach 'The Ultimate Fighter' after he had already paid all his dues with the state [whose rules he violated] and everything else. He had paid all his dues and was ready to go again. He was not allowed to coach 'The Ultimate Fighter.' What do you think? Completely unfair? Totally biased? It's just – I don't deal with the commission."
This past December, Mayweather was issued a three-month domestic-battery prison sentence for a 2010 attack on his ex-girlfriend and verbal threats made to two children he fathered with the woman. However, his attorneys successfully lobbied for a Las Vegas court to suspend Mayweather's sentence until June so that the boxer could face Miguel Cotto on May 5.
Mayweather's attorney, Richard Wright, based his argument strictly on the boxer's ability to provide an economic impact in Las Vegas, and Justice of the Peace Melissa Saragosa found in his favor. The NSAC subsequently licensed Mayweather for the fight.
White believes his company also provides a substantial economic impact in Sin City but doesn't think his athletes would be granted the same leverage.
"You know how much money we bring into Las Vegas every year with the fights that we put on?" White asked. "You know how much we contribute to the city of Las Vegas? Do you think for a second if we had a fighter that was going to go to jail that the athletic commission would license him to fight so that the fight could go on? There's no way in hell."
As proof of his argument, White points to Sonnen, who was denied an opportunity to coach on the the 14th season of "The Ultimate Fighter" opposite Michael Bisping.
Sonnen's troubles dated back to a failed UFC 117 drug screen, in which the middleweight tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone. The California State Athletic Commission initially suspended Sonnen one year but later reduced the sentence to six months. However, the CSAC later re-suspended him, citing potentially untruthful testimony in the original hearing, as well as a money-laundering conviction.
That decision left the NSAC unwilling to grant a license for Sonnen to coach on "TUF 14," and he was ultimately pulled from the show in favor of Jason "Mayhem" Miller.
White thinks looking at the two rulings side-by-side shows an obvious injustice. When pressed on why he believes things went down they way they did, White refused to speculate.
"I don't know," White said. "You guys are the reporters. You should probably look into that. I'm not. I don't even know what to say except to just be honest about it and say, 'Holy [expletive]. That's crazy.'"
Of course, Diaz will soon have to go before the NSAC to address his failed test. Most MMA pundits point to a January 31 NSAC ruling on boxer Matt Vanda as a guide to what likely lies ahead for Diaz.
Vanda, like Diaz, has failed two career screens for marijuana use. The NSAC elected to suspend Vanda for one year and fined him 40 percent of his purse.
Once again, White believes a comparison to Mayweather's ruling shows an incredibly inconsistent application of policy.
"Even the boxer – the guy smokes marijuana, and it's his second time," White said. "He's not going to jail. He gets a year suspension, and they take 40 percent of his purse. Floyd Mayweather is going to jail. It's been put off and postponed so he can fight, and he gets licensed to fight."
Diaz is expected to appear before the NSAC in April, though he'll receive a temporary suspension at the commission meeting scheduled for later this month. While he missed out on a coaching gig on "TUF 14," Sonnen was ultimately cleared again to fight and is likely to rematch Silva this summer after earning wins over Brian Stann and Bisping.
Meanwhile, Mayweather will fight on May 5 before finally serving his sentence.
"Am I the only guy on this [expletive] planet who thinks that's crazy?" White asked. "Seriously. It just blows my mind."
Source: UFC boss: NSAC's handling of Mayweather, Diaz, Sonnen woefully inconsistent