Dana White Doesn’t Think Nick Diaz Will Ever Fight Again
We have not seen former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz compete in the world famous Octagon in more than two years. While fans want to see Diaz compete once again, UFC President Dana White has his doubts as he recently stated in an interview that the fan favorite may never compete in MMA again.
“I highly doubt it,” White told MMAjunkie. “I don’t know. I honestly don’t think that, and I can’t speak for him, you’d have to speak with Nick himself, but if you ask me – people ask me, ‘Do you think Ronda (Rousey) is coming back?’ No. I think Ronda’s going to retire. Ronda hasn’t retired, but my opinion is, I think she will. I don’t think Nick Diaz will ever fight again. I just don’t think he has the desire anymore.”
Diaz, who is widely popular, has not competed since January of 2015 when he took on former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Though Silva was originally announced as the winner by decision, the result of their fight was later overturned when both fighters tested positive for banned substances. Silva for performance enhancers and Diaz for marijuana metabolites.
Diaz has had an accomplished career, but he has not won a fight in the UFC since an October 2011 win over B.J. Penn. The UFC boss thinks that Diaz has lost the passion needed to compete at the sport’s highest level.
“The thing about fighting, first of all, it’s a young man’s game,” White said. “You’ve got to be young, hungry. You’ve got to be an animal to jump out of bed every day and go in there and train the way that you do.
“The things that you have to do to get to the UFC, let alone break into the top 10 or the top 5 or be a world champion, you have to love it. I just don’t think that Nick loves it anymore.”
White has said in the past that both Nick and his brother Nate have been offered fights but have thus far turned them down. Fans have not seen Nate compete since his rematch with UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor back in August of 2016, but White thinks he will fight again.
“Nate, I think that Nate probably will (fight) if something popped up,” White said. “But that’s just my opinion. If you ask the Diaz brothers, they might have a different opinion.”
