Controversial UFC fighter Nick Diaz was handed a five-year suspension and a $165,000 fine by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for a positive marijuana test after a unanimous-decision loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 183 on January 31, 2015.

The suspension, voted unanimously by the NSAC, is the second-longest ever given to a fighter. Former UFC middleweight Wanderlei Silva was issued a lifetime ban in September 2014. That suspension has since been reversed.

The commission discussed a lifetime ban before settling on five years.

Diaz and his lawyers say they will appeal.

The 32-year-old Diaz (26-10 MMA, 7-7 UFC) has been suspended twice before, in 2012 after a loss to Carlos Condit at UFC 143 and in 2006 after a win over Takanori Gomi, for the same infraction.

The $165,000 fine is 33 per cent of the $500,000 purse he was paid for the bout against Silva.

Fighters and MMA personalities flocked to Twitter to voice their opinions of the decision, most of them disagreeing with the commission's decision.