I know I am a week late but I wanted to share a few thoughts on the recent revelation that Nick Diaz tested positive for marijuana use before his fight at UFC 143 against Carlos Condit.

I don’t know Nick Diaz. So I am not an authority on him or his relationships with those close to him. I have met him several times and he has always been very cordial. I went to UFC 143 specifically to watch him fight. I have always appreciated the way he fights. He is truly the epitome of an Ultimate Fighter. His fights are always exciting. He never quits. He is always aggressive. He always shows up in shape.

I found it interesting at UFC 143 the two different interactions I had with him. The first was in the lobby of my hotel by the elevators. The Mandalay Bay has the main hotel and then another more secluded area called The Hotel. I paid for a $40.00 a night upgrade and stayed at The Hotel. It is quieter, more accessible, and not nearly as “smokey.” Nick Diaz and his entourage were staying there too. We ran into him (and his brother Nate) as we were going to our room.

Nick is famously from Stockton. I lived in Modesto for 4 years so we were kind of neighbors. I mentioned to he and Nate that I was from Modesto and that broke the ice. We talked for about 15 minutes covering everything from his fight against Carlos Condit to Shaq Thompson signing a letter of intent with the Huskies. He and his brother were super friendly. I would have been happy with just a picture but they were in the mood to chat. It wasn’t crowded. Other UFC fans weren’t shoving their way in for a picture. It was just the guys staying with me and the guys staying with them.

My next encounter was a bit different. We had just finished eating breakfast at the Red, White, and Blue Cafe and were walking towards the convention center. There was a huge hunting convention going on. I heard (not sure if it is true or not) that it was the largest hunting convention in the world. Regardless, I have never seen so much camouflage in my life. Nick and his entourage were heading down the walkway. The rest of our crew had shown up by now and wanted a picture so we asked again. He obliged again.

This encounter was very different. He was anxious, almost nervous….bordered on annoyed. You could tell he wanted to get to and from where he was going as quickly as possible. The big difference? The crowd.

Nick Diaz is an introvert. He doesn’t like big crowds. He actually doesn’t really like attention. MMA fans will never forget this past fall when he just randomly skipped a press conference promoting a fight. He gave some cryptic reasoning why via youtube. Basically, he enjoys fighting but hates the attention he gets from fighting. Too much pressure and too much attention gets to him.

For UFC 143 everywhere he went he was followed around by cameras. The UFC primetime show which highlighted the backstory of his and Carlos Condit’s training was pretty invasive. For someone with a likely social disorder like Nick this was probably a huge stress. My guess is he went back to his vice of choice, marijuana, to mellow himself out.

I have to be honest, I am worried about Nick. Not just because he struggles with weed but because he seems like a very lost guy. He is only 28 and has most of his life ahead of him. I think he needs an intervention. I think the intervention goes way beyond help with his marijuana obsession. I think he needs help coping with his social disorder. He turns to marijuana to cope with what he really needs help with.

My prayer for Nick is that someone in his life that he respects would reach out to him and try to get him some help. Maybe this is (and has) already happening. Like I said, I am not privy to any of his relationships. I just know the guy needs some help. Fans are frustrated because they want to see him fight. His likely year suspension will irritate them. People are already beginning to say that marijuana use shouldn’t lead to this type of a suspension because it isn’t a performance enhancing drug. It seems, as always, people are only worried about Nick Diaz fighting. I am different. I am worried about him, as a person. He needs some serious help. If he doesn’t end up getting it, some day we will be wondering whatever happened to Nick Diaz.

Ultimately, I think what ails Nick Diaz is his soul. I think he needs Jesus.

Note: I was at the fight. I think Nick won rounds 1 and 5. Carlos Condit clearly won that fight, in my humble opinion.