So, Cher just tweeted support for Nick Diaz to her 3 million followers

Cher

Currently suspended UFC welterweight Nick Diaz continues to garner support, this time from a seemingly unexpected source.

Iconic singer and actress Cher today tweeted in support of Diaz, whom the Nevada State Athletic Commission recently suspended for five years following his latest failed drug test due to marijuana, to her nearly 3 million followers:

It’s not clear if the 69-year-old Californian has any real ties to Diaz, but Cher included a link to a White House petition in support of the fighter. MMAjunkie’s Ben Fowlkes recently wrote about that campaign and the petition, which has garnered nearly 70,000 signatures – 30,000 short of the 100,000 needed – as of this morning.

The NSAC suspended Diaz and handed him a $165,000 fine during a Sept. 14 hearing. The suspension, which could essentially end the 36-year-old’s fighting career, came after the former Strikeforce champion passed the first and last of the three tests for his UFC 183 fight earlier this year. The commission’s legal rep, Nevada Deputy Attorney General Eccles, argued the conflicting results didn’t invalidate each other and said the fighter was dishonest on his pre-fight medical paperwork, which asked whether he had used any drugs in the past two weeks.

After the hearing, Diaz was understandably fired up:

In the wake of the strange hearing, a handful of fighters, including UFC flyweight contender Henry Cejudo, have vowed not to fight in Nevada. Others, both in and out of the MMA industry, have posted messages of support.

Diaz (27-9 MMA, 7-7 UFC) suffered a unanimous-decision loss to longtime middleweight great Anderson Silva (33-6 MMA, 16-2 UFC) at UFC 183, which took place Jan. 31 in Las Vegas. The result was eventually overturned when both fighters failed drug tests.

For complete coverage of UFC 183, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(Touch of gloves: Reddit MMA)