Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight title contender Nick Diaz likes to smoke weed. To the point where it sometimes gets him in trouble with Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC).

But you knew that already.

While folks unfamiliar with marijuana think everyone who smokes pot looks and acts like Floyd from True Romance, that's not always the case. In fact, Diaz employs the herb to help him get through the daily grind of life as a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter.

From his interview with High Times:

"If I'm at home and I'm training -- doing my same things every day -- then I'm definitely going to want to use cannabis. It's gonna help. I'm trying to stay focused on what I'm doing. I don't want a whole lot of things going on -- people to call back, or text messages or whatever. I chill out, relax a little bit, and then I don't have those issues. If I'm going to train all day, when I get done, I'm gonna want to smoke. If I have to go and train all day, before I go, I'm gonna want to smoke. If I wake up in the morning and feel beat to shit, and it's going to take me forever to wake up, I smoke some weed and I wake right up. Then I have breakfast and I go do a workout."

It sure beats popping Vicodin.

Unfortunately for Diaz, who's riding the pine after his latest timeout from the "dorks" at the NSAC, cannabis is prohibited during competition and any traces found still lingering in his system can result in a hefty fine, as well as a lengthy suspension.

Even worse, there's a new sheriff in town, so we may have to revisit this issue at some point.