In light of the extreme five-year ban the Nevada Athletic Commission handed down to Nick Diaz for testing positive for marijuana, plenty of people — fighters, fans and media — expressed their disgust. Yet nobody took as much action as Olympic gold medalist and current UFC flyweight contender Henry Cejudo, who drafted a letter to the commission declaring, among other things, that he’d never fight in Las Vegas again.



Cejudo — along with his manager, Bill McFarlane — took offense to the lack of due process from last Monday’s meeting. It was a third time offense for Diaz in the state of Nevada, which would have meant a 36-month suspension under the revised standardized protocol. Diaz’s defense centered around the fact that Diaz was tested three times in quick succession, twice by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which the NAC adheres to, and once by a non-WADA third party.



Even with the positive test falling to the outlier — which the defense argued should be thrown out — the NAC banned Diaz for five years from competition. At 32 years old, Diaz wouldn’t be illegible to return until 2020, when he’s 35.



The 28-year-old Cejudo, who appeared on the Monday edition of The MMA Hour, said it was an egregious abuse of power, and it prompted him to protest in the most extreme way he could.



"My immediate reaction was that it was something that was unjust," he told Ariel Helwani. "Throughout the period of 2004 through 2012, I’ve probably been tested about 100 times by USADA [United States Anti-Doping Agency], but never have I run into a case where somebody has been tested three times in the span of probably 12 hours. To me it’s something that’s unjust, and I feel like as an Olympic athlete who’s now a UFC fighter it gives the…I feel like I have his side because I’ve been there before. And not to discount the fact that he passed two tests and the only test that came back negative was a test that wasn’t even credited by WADA.



"To me it was just like, man, I felt like Nick Diaz was targeted from the get-go. And I just can’t sit there and let this man be suspended for five years. I can’t even live with myself, because I’ve been through this process from the age of 17 to the age of 26."



Cejudo is next scheduled to fight Jussier Formiga on Nov. 21 at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 finale, which takes place in Monterrey, Mexico. With Demetrious Johnson having defended his flyweight title against John Dodson at UFC 191 in early September, the winner of Cejudo-Formiga could be in line to challenge next for the 125-pound belt.



Cejudo said he would forego the chance should that opportunity be offered to him in Las Vegas.



"To me it’s not so much based on success," he said. "As a competitor, I want to compete and I want to accomplish everything, but to me the message here is to do what’s right. Will I become a UFC champion some day? I know I will. Will I do it now? Maybe I don’t have to. Maybe I’m more into protests now for the sake of this man who’s been wrongly processed with this five-year ban. That’s ridiculous."



Cejudo sided with Diaz in taking the Fifth Amendment when questions where directed at him, an action that looked to have peeved the commissioners. Cejudo pointed to Diaz’s social anxiety, and said that he was perhaps acting in his best interest to avoid making matters worse for himself.



Cejudo also said that though he’s taking a stand in this case, it had less to so with Nick Diaz — whom he says he’s never met, personally — than it does the flaws of the system, and the tyranny of the commission.



"Something has to be done," he said. "I think the Nevada State Athletic Commission, I think they need to be processed in some way. I think they really need to look into this thoroughly, and check them out, because like I said, Nick Diaz was targeted. And that’s not right. Never in my life have I been tested — and I’ve trained all across the world, I’ve been to so many countries — never have I been tested three times in a the span of a day."



Given that the UFC is hubbed in Las Vegas, and that the city is known as the "fight capital of the world," Cejudo was asked if he had any reservations about voluntarily removing himself from competing there. He said it was one way that he could help perhaps affect change.



"You think of the great leaders who have done so well," he said. "You think of a Nelson Mandela, you think of a Martin Luther King — these guys never really fought back with fists and violence, but they came back with protests. Even Cesar Chavez in the early-’60s, what did he do? He boycotted not to buy grapes at that time."



After vowing not to compete in Nevada, other fighters such as Leslie Smith and Aljamain Sterling have taken similar vows in protest against the NAC. Though Cejudo is happy to take a stand against the injustices of the NAC, he said he wasn’t specifically looking to start a rally.



"I know we have a big UFC coming up in December with Conor McGregor headlining, and [Chris] Weidman," he said, referring to the three UFC cards between Dec. 10-12. "I definitely don’t want to sidetrack that event.



"I’m just here to take a step for my personal view, and I just couldn’t do it. Even if that means leaving the belt on the line and leaving somebody else to fight whoever has that belt at that time, I’m willing to do that. I’m willing to show the type of person with the type of character that I am."