UFC Fighter Suspended After Using Anti-Gay Slur on Twitter

When a fight spilled out of the cage and into cyberspace, officials from the Ultimate Fighting Championship saw fit to suspend fighter Nate Diaz for using an anti-gay in a Twitter post last Thursday, MMAFighting.com reports.

Nate Diaz, 28, took to the social media website and called Pat Healy "the biggest fag in the world." Diaz wrote the tweet after Healy lost his bonus money from a recent victory because he tested positive for pot use. The money was then given to another fighter, whom Diaz later lashed out against 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 statement. "Nate is currently suspended pending internal investigation and we will provide further comment once the matter has been decided."

USA Today points out that the UFC formally released rules prohibiting discriminatory comments.

Diaz has since deleted his tweet but the fighter's manager, Mike Kogan, said the athlete was using the word as slang for another insult.

"His intent was not to make a derogatory term toward homosexuals," Kogan told MMAJunkie. "He used the word to refer to a punk or a bitch."

In March, Fallon Fox made headlines after she came out as mixed martial arts' first transgender. Though many lauded the fighter for coming out, the UFC suspended heavyweight Matt Mitrion for calling Fox a "disgusting freak," USA Today notes.