Strikeforce News: Nick Diaz Out, Jesse Taylor vs. Jay Hieron Set

Sherdog with the news:

Jay Hieron will meet Jesse Taylorin a non-title welterweight bout this Saturday at "Carano vs. Cyborg" at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. The bout, which was approved by the California State Athletic Commission Monday afternoon, will be one of four fights aired on Showtime at 10:30 p.m. EST

Jesse Taylor is a former TUF contestant, yep the same one that got kicked off the show will step in on short notice.  Taylor has been on a tear winning 7 fights in a row since losing to CB Dollaway at the UFN 14.  He last won at DREAM 10 last month.

MMAWeekly has more on the Diaz situation from Cesar Gracie(Diaz's manager):

On Monday, Diaz’s manager, Cesar Gracie, said his fighter had an informal agreement with former CSAC executive officer Armando Garcia that precluded random drug testing. Diaz, a resident of Stockton, Calif., currently holds a medical marijuana license under the state’s Compassionate Use Act of 1996 and Medical Marijuana Program Act. Garcia departed the agency last November.

"They changed it without any notification," said Gracie. "No one had any time. The old guys were doing things based off of California law, and I knew California law didn’t change. He’s licensed... it’s legal. They’re own legal team came out with a ruling that said (compassionate use was allowed). Then all of a sudden they’re saying we’re doing drug tests, and cannabis is included, it’s not just performance enhancers. To flush it out of his system, it takes 10 days, and we don’t have that."

So basically, Nick Diaz has been using marijuana and doesn't want to risk getting his license suspended?  Which Gracie further elaborates on:

Gracie said the situation was unfortunate, but Diaz would take a later fight.

"He fights every two months," said Gracie. "It’s too bad for Jay Hieron, but what can you do? If you take the test, what’s going to happen? What’s going to happen is he’s gonna not get licensed in California for over a year and not fight this fight. If you don’t take this test, you don’t fight this fight, and you fight next month, because you have time to flush it out of your system." 

Talk about finding the loop holes in the system.  Hit up the comments section, I got to hear your thoughts on this one.  The good thing is, although it isn't a title fight, Jay Hieron will still get paid and Jesse Taylor will get a chance to shine.

Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg coverage