Rousey sounds off on Diaz suspension

It was a question that was never asked of her that prompted her most fiery response, however.

Rousey gave an impassioned and unprompted defense of her friend Nick Diaz, who was suspended five years on Monday by the Nevada Athletic Commission for the third marijuana-related offense of his career.

“It’s so not right for him to be suspended five years for marijuana. It’s not a performance-enhancing drug,” she said. “There’s no reason for them to be testing for weed at all. It’s an invasion of privacy.”

She conceded her feelings are colored by her friendship with Diaz, but said her opinion is more about fairness.

“One person tests positive for steroids that can really hurt someone (and get a one-year suspension) and he smokes a plant that makes him happy and he gets five years?

I think they really should free Nick Diaz.”

Rousey called marijuana testing in combat sports “political.”

“It has nothing to do with athletic competition,” she said.

Rousey’s answer came moments after UFC president Dana White was asked for his opinion on the disciplinary action taken by the NAC. White was more diplomatic.

“I don’t know enough about it. It happened while we were here,” he said. “I get back to the office on Friday and we can figure out what’s going on with that thing. But it seems a little rough. I’d imagine if they suspended him for five years, it’s about more than just the marijuana.

“That just doesn’t make sense.”

Rousey is scheduled to defend her title against Holly Holm. Women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk puts her belt on the line against Valerie Letourneau at the same event as the UFC hopes to sell 70,000 tickets to break the mixed martial arts attendance record.

Rousey hopes fans see the event as featuring two great title fights instead of just some sort of marketing gimmick. She even demanded White take the reference to “women’s champion” out of the promotional video that was shown before the news conference.

“People aren’t here today because they love women, it’s because they love fighters and fights. The fact we’re women is obvious. It’s not a novelty anymore. It doesn’t need to be said,” Rousey said. “I never hear it mentioned that somebody is the men’s champion, they’re just the champion. Hopefully that’s the way it will be for us.”

It’s unclear just how long Rousey will be reaching milestones in the octagon.

She has dropped hints in recent months about how long she will continue fighting, particularly with a blossoming acting career outside the cage.

Asked directly about her future by a fan in Australia, Rousey said even she is unsure of where her career may be headed.

“I just want to play it by ear every time. It’s not about how much time I have left or how many fights, it’s about how much time I spend in the cage. If we have a five-round brawl, I won’t have as much time left. If I walk out unscathed, I have more time. I’m not really thinking that far ahead,” she said. “A couple years ago I had no idea what I’d be doing right now. I could be breaking the record for title defenses in a few years or I could be making babies. Who knows?”

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.