The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is putting a chokehold on slurs against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
The mixed martial arts fighting league suspended Nate Diaz after he called another fighter "the biggest fag in the world" on Twitter Thursday, according to MMAFighting.com.
The 28-year-old Diaz, a 155-pounder with a 16-9 record, posted the message after fellow fighter Pat Healy lost his bonus money from a recent victory because he tested positive for marijuana. The money was given to Bryan Caraway, whom Diaz later targeted on Twitter.
"We are very disappointed by Nate Diaz’s comments, which are in no way reflective of our organization," the UFC wrote in a widely circulated statement. "Nate is currently suspended pending internal investigation and we will provide further comment once the matter has been decided."
USA Today noted that this year the UFC formally established rules prohibiting discriminatory comments.
Last month, UFC suspended heavyweight Matt Mitrione for calling transgender fighter Fallon Fox a "disgusting freak." Several publications have pointed out, however, that Mitrione was signed for a fight less than three weeks later.
Diaz's tweet, which appears to have been deleted, read, "I feel bad for pat Healy they took a innocent mans money and I think the guy who took the money is the biggest fag in the world.”
Diaz's manager, Mike Kogan, said his fighter was using the word as slang for another type of insult. "His intent was not to make a derogatory term toward homosexuals," Kogan told MMAjunkie.com. "He used the word to refer to a punk or a bitch."
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