Nick Diaz "Misses" Deadline for Drug Test For Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg Event

From Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker:

Caesar Gracie told me Diaz [missed his Aug. 7 drug test because] he was in the mountains training. He’s supposed to be on his way (right now) to Los Angeles to take his drug test with the California State Athletic Commission. He has until 3pm to get it done. We’re hoping he makes the right decision. [If he does] we should have the results by Thursday. We have a contingency plan in place if necessary. Regardless, Jay Hieron will be fighting on August 15.

At the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist, I wonder if there might be some strategy behind this. There have been rumors that Strikeforce has a "champion's clause" for most of their title holders that requires them to stay with their promotion exclusively while they hold the belt (an obvious exception to this is Alistair Overeem's situation). If Diaz is interested in entertaining offers from Zuffa, it might be in his interest to finish out the fight(s) on his contract without holding a Strikeforce championship so that he can have leverage to bargain.  Kelvin Hunt spoke on the potential for Strikeforce to shield their champions from the UFC last week. Just something to think about. It's a theory that I can understand better than apparent unprofessional laziness.

[Note by Kelvin Hunt, 08/10/09 4:10 PM EDT ]Via MMAmania:

Controversial Strikeforce welterweight Nick Diaz could watch his August 15 title fight against Jay Hieron go up in smoke after missing his scheduled pre-fight drug test on August 7.

The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) made arrangements with Strikeforce to reschedule Diaz for today (August 10), however, Diaz has yet to arrive at the testing facility.

The CSAC cannot accept a sample any later than this afternoon if it’s to be processed and reported in time for Saturday’s "Carano vs. Cyborg" event. Therefore, unless Diaz submits a sample today, his scheduled bout against Hieron will be scrapped.

 Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg coverage