Diaz's lawyer, Ross Goodman, on Tuesday filed suit against the Nevada State Athletic Commission seeking relief for his client against a temporary suspension the camp feels is unlawful.
The lawsuit was first reported by MMAFighting.com.
Diaz (27-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC) lost a unanimous decision to Condit (28-5 MMA, 5-1 UFC) in an interim welterweight title bout at UFC 143, which took place Feb. 4 in Las Vegas. He was placed under temporary suspension when a post-fight drug test revealed the presence of marijuana metabolites.
Diaz's camp has attacked the merits of the NSAC's case from the beginning, suggesting that the marijuana metabolites that prompted his failed test aren't banned by the commission.
Earlier this month, Goodman invoked a Nevada legislative statute that said the commission must rule on Diaz's case within 45 days of the temporary suspension – April 6 – or the Diaz camp would consider the state's complaint null and void.
Nevada deputy attorney Christopher Eccles responded that the statute applied only in cases in which "the public health, safety or welfare imperatively require emergency action." He noted that Diaz had not appeared at an NSAC hearing in which a temporary suspension was addressed and reminded Goodman that an agreement to produce Diaz's medical-marijuana card was in place. While that card has yet to be delivered to the commission, Goodman stands by his earlier claim and is now asking the Clark County District Court to rule as such.
