Dana White Says Nate & Nick Diaz Keep Turning Down Fights

If you’re among the legions of MMA fans awaiting the return of popular UFC bad boys Nate and Nick Diaz, unfortunately Dana White doesn’t have an answer for you.

During a recent interview with TMZ Sports (via Bloody Elbow), White revealed that the promotion had been offering both Diaz brothers fights, but neither of them were willing to accept any of the offers:

“We keep offering Nate fights and he keeps turning them down. Nick too.”

White said he had “no idea” why the UFC’s most infamous brothers had turned down each bout, but when he was asked if Nate was perhaps holding out for a third match-up with Conor McGregor, White couldn’t deny it. However, he also couldn’t deny that McGregor had a plethora of opportunities:

“Maybe. Maybe he is. But Conor has endless possibilities for fights.”

Indeed McGregor does have many a potentially lucrative opportunity, the biggest of course being his heavily discussed super fight with boxing champion Floyd Mayweather.

White said he wouldn’t stand in the way of his biggest star making that kind of money and expects the fight to happen during an interview with Conan O’Brien last night as part of his multiple appearances in the media this week.

Nate was also reportedly offered a fight with former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez at May’s massive UFC 211 but turned it down.

As for Nick Diaz, the ultra-popular anti-hero recently called welterweight champ Tyron Woodley out for his boring bout at UFC 209 and said upcoming opponents Michael Bisping and Georges St-Pierre should have fought him instead of each other, so it’s apparent he won’t step back into the octagon for less than the biggest fight available despite being out action since early 2015 and not having a win – and over an aging BJ Penn, no less – since October 2011.

Whatever the circumstances, it has become quite clear the Diazes won’t fight for anything less than the largest payday, something WME-IMG has been adverse to handing out in the rocky first days of their era.

Because of that, don’t expect to see Nate or Nick back to fighting anytime soon; especially with McGregor on the sidelines.