Nate Diaz Cleared of Possible Doping Violation, Will Fight in UFC 244 Main Event

The UFC 244 main event between Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal will go on as scheduled after the promotion cleared Diaz of any wrongdoing following a drug test result, per President Dana White:

The UFC released a statement clearing Diaz, and it said the following in part:

"On October 24, 2019, Nate Diaz released a public statement regarding a recent out-of-competition test conducted by USADA. UFC has been notified by USADA that the out-of-competition test concluded that LGD-4033 was present in Mr. Diaz's sample at an amount below the decision concentration level for this substance.

"USADA is reviewing the out-of-competition test as an atypical finding. Further laboratory testing conducted by the Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory (SMRTL), a WADA-accredited lab in Salt Lake City, Utah, has confirmed that two bottles of the same organic, vegan, plant-based daily multivitamin that Mr. Diaz was using were each contaminated with LGD-4033, which the evidence supports resulted in Mr. Diaz's positive sample.

"Mr. Diaz has not committed an anti-doping policy violation, has not been provisionally suspended and is not subject to any sanctions. Additionally, UFC has been informed by independent experts who have determined that there is unequivocally no appreciable performance enhancing or therapeutic benefit from the significantly limited amount of LGD-4033 that may be present in his system, which is roughly 10,000 times lower than one LGD-4033 therapeutic dose."

On Thursday, Diaz tweeted that he wasn't fighting after he "tested with elevated levels that they say might be from some tainted supplements," per MMA Weekly (via Yahoo):

"I'm not gonna make it out to NYC for fight week next week because they say I tested with elevated levels that they say might be from some tainted supplements," Diaz wrote.

"I call false on that cause I only take Whole Food or natural food supplements. I don’t even eat meat.

"So until UFC, USADA or whoever is f--king with me fixes it, I won't be competing.

"I'm not gonna play their game and try and hide it or keep quiet, as they suggested. I'm not gonna have my name tainted as a cheater like these other motherf--kers who keep quiet until after the fight just so that they can get paid."

In August, Diaz returned to the UFC after a three-year hiatus and defeated Anthony Pettis via unanimous decision. The 34-year-old owns a 20-11 professional MMA record and is ranked as the UFC's No. 6 welterweight.

Diaz is facing a strong competitor in Masvidal, who recorded a UFC-record five-second knockout over Ben Askren in his last fight at UFC 239 in July. The 34-year-old sports a 34-13 professional mark.

Masvidal is the early favorite at the sportsbooks, per Oddschecker. He's listed anywhere from -160 to -166, meaning bets of $160 or $166 would win $100 for those odds.

UFC 244, which will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City, will be Nov. 2. The five-fight main card also includes a middleweight bout between Kelvin Gastelum and Darren Till and a heavyweight bout featuring Derrick Lewis and Blagoy Ivanov.

The night will mark the UFC's 500th live event.