NEW YORK – Jeff Novitzky, the UFC VP for athlete health and performance, found himself in the middle of a firestorm last week after Nate Diaz tweeted that he was withdrawing from UFC 244 because a pre-fight drug test had been flagged by U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
Diaz vehemently denies intentionally taking any performance-enhancing drugs. As it turned out, a minute amount of Ligandrol was traced back to an organic, plant-based supplement taken by Diaz, and he was subsequently exonerated by USADA and allowed to fight by the New York State Athletic Commission, which is sanctioning Saturday’s “BMF” title fight against Jorge Masvidal.
On Friday, Novitzky addressed reporters for nearly 20 minutes and went into great detail on Diaz’s case, from the timeline to the perception of a cover-up based on Diaz’s tweet.
“I’ve been in this business for 20 years, and this is the case where the pieces of the puzzle fit absolutely perfectly,” Novitzky said. “So hopefully no doubt in everybody’s mind.”
Novitzky also spoke about upcoming reform to the UFC’s program with USADA and more.
You can watch his entire media scrum in the video above.
UFC 244 takes place at Madison Square Garden and streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN+, ESPN2, and UFC Fight Pass.
