UFC Suspends Nate Diaz For Gay Slur

UFC lightweight Nate Diaz has been suspended for using a homophobic slur on Twitter Thursday.

Diaz was defending fellow lightweight Pat Healy, who had his $130,000 bonus from UFC 159 stripped after he tested positive for marijuana. Healy’s submission victory over Jim Miller — which was awarded “Submission of the Night” — has been overturned by the NJSAC and will go down as a No Contest instead. The $65,000 bonus for the honor, as well as another $65,000 awarded for “Fight of the Night” will now be given to Bryan Caraway instead.

Diaz didn’t like that outcome, and vented about it on Twitter.

“I feel bad for pat Healy that they took a innocent mans money,” Diaz wrote, “and I think the guy who took the money is the biggest F** in the world.”

Those three letters put Diaz’s future in the UFC in a state of limbo.

“We are very disappointed by Nate Diaz’s comments, which are in no way reflective of our organization,” the UFC said in a statement. “Nate is currently suspended pending internal investigation and we will provide further comment once the matter has been decided.”

Mike Kogan, Diaz’s manager, said the tweet wasn’t homophobic and that he simply meant it as an attack on Caraway, who was very open about wanting Healy’s bonus. When asked if Diaz would apologize, Kogan said, “Apologizing for what? He didn’t use that word in that sort of context. It’s a misunderstanding. If people are uneducated, that’s not my f****** fault. It’s slang for being a little b****. The guy goes on Twitter and chases Dana down like a little f** instead of picking up the phone.”

Note to Kogan: using the same word your client just got suspended for? Probably not the brightest idea.

But Dana White hinted that Diaz could be getting more than a suspension. He could ultimately lose his job over the slur.

“We are going to fine, suspend, or cut him,” White said. “One or two of those three will happen.”

Since one has already happened, it’s safe to say that the other shoe has yet to drop for Diaz. However, with Diaz currently on a two-fight losing streak — his most recent loss was to Josh Thomson at UFC on FOX 7 less than a month ago — the promotion may be losing its former No. 1 lightweight contender.

If Matt Mitrione could utter transphobic slurs against Fallon Fox, calling her “disgusting” and a “freak,” and still be added to a fight card less than a month later, perhaps there’s a chance for Diaz. But if the UFC does decide to cut him, Diaz has several options, including WSOF, Bellator, or older brother Nick’s upstart, War MMA.

What do you think of Nate Diaz’s suspension?