Banned UFC star thanks “great friend” Ronda Rousey for having his back

Nick Diaz won't be fighting in UFC for a while after picking up a lengthy drugs ban, but he has sung Ronda Rousey's praises after she stuck up for him.

Diaz could face five years on the sidelines after a positive marijuana test saw him banned from fighting in Nevada, but Rousey said she felt the suspension was "not right". In an interview with TMZ, Diaz said: "She didn't need to do that. I don't know if she caught heat for it ... I hope she didn't. But Ronda understands how I am. She's like me, only a girl. A prize fighter. She's a great friend." Former professional boxer Diaz, who has won 26 of his 37 mixed martial arts bouts, also got in trouble for a brawl with fellow fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov in Las Vegas. While Nevada remains off limits, he suggested he may look to get his name on a fight card elsewhere. "I've been hearing other states' athletic commissions are angry about the ruling, so hopefully I'll be able to fight in those states," he said.