Nick Diaz and his legal team are in the middle of a settlement talk to reduce his five-year suspension with the Nevada Athletic Commission, per MMA Fighting. UFC law firm Campbell & Williams was also involved in the talks, and Diaz could fight again as early as 2016.

His lead counsel Lucas Middlebrook is planning to file a petition for judicial review, but he told MMA Fighting that the NAC has not given any decision. Middlebrook refused to give away any more details about their talks, but he presented a defense last month via a separate MMA Fighting report.

In the report, Diaz passed two of the three drug tests taken last Jan. 31. The failed test came from Quest Diagnostics, which is not accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) while the two negative results came from Sports Medicine Research and Testing Lab, a WADA-accredited laboratory.

Legal analyst Amy Dardashtian also tweeted the possibility of Diaz fighting in 2016 if the talk with the NAC goes well. The 32-year-old fighter thanked his legal team on Instagram as well as Campbell & Williams.

The former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion was suspended by the NAC for failing his post-fight drug test after UFC 183 last Jan. 31 against Anderson Silva, per ESPN. Diaz failed his drug test for the use of marijuana for the third time, and the NAC felt that he disrespected the commission as Diaz promised that it won't happen again.

"I wanted to tell them what I think. I wanted to tell each and every one of them they're a bunch of dorks. I wanted to get up and say, 'Look. You guys are way the [expletive] out of line," Diaz said after his suspension was given.

UFC president Dana White, commentator Joe Rogan, Ronda Rousey and other MMA fighters and fans lashed out at the NAC about the ruling. They even use the #FreeNickDiaz hashtag on Twitter and cited that Anderson Silva, who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, was only suspended for one year, as reported by MMA Junkie.

Jon Jones also tested positive for cocaine during an out-of-competition drug test before his fight against Daniel Cormier in January but did not receive any suspensions from the NAC. Even the White House got involved in the Diaz suspension due to a fan filling an online petition on its official website. As of this writing, the petition has garnered more than 114,720 signatures, but there is no official word if the White House will respond to it.