Dana White Updates Nate Diaz’ UFC Future
Nate Diaz claims the UFC roster doesn’t want to fight him, but Dana White insists quite the opposite is true. White updated Diaz’ future this week, and the outlook isn’t all that encouraging.
Diaz was set to make his return against top-ranked lightweight Dustin Poirier at November 3’s UFC 230. It was his first scheduled fight since 2016’s UFC 202. But a hip injury to “The Diamond” put it on the shelf. Diaz stayed on Poirier by trolling him on social media. Poirier responded that Diaz had been a huge headache to deal with the entire time.
Speaking to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto on the subject, White would seem to be on the side of Poirier’s argument. He revealed the UFC had supposedly offered Diaz an alarming 50 bouts and he just didn’t want them:
“I’m not interested in making a Nate Diaz fight until Diaz is just dying to fight. We’ll offer him fights, we always offer him fights. We probably offered this kid 50 fights since he fought Conor. When he’s ready to fight, he’ll let us know.”
Fights Offered
White then reminded everyone that the UFC gave him a fight with Poirier. But when it was announced his longtime rival McGregor was fighting Khabib Nurmagomedov, Diaz said he wasn’t fighting any longer.
“He wanted a fight, we made a fight, we announced the fight, immediately he starts saying he’s not fighting.”
It could be argued Diaz has been extremely difficult in terms of negotiations since his historic rivalry with McGregor in 2016. He’s also still one of the UFC’s most well-known fan favorites, and he probably deserves to be paid like one.
Many think he’s simply waiting for his blockbuster trilogy fight with McGregor to finally happen. With “The Notorious” losing to Khabib by submission, it could be a distinct possibility for the UFC and McGregor right now. It will do big business no matter when it happens (if it does).
From the sound of it, White isn’t excited to offer him such a high-profile fight, however. Should he?
