Dana White has responded to an appearance by Nate Diaz on a special edition of Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour yesterday. Diaz, who hasn’t appeared in the UFC octagon since a UFC 202 majority decision loss to Conor McGregor, spent about an hour on the show, talking about what it would take to get him back in the octagon, how he felt he won McGregor-Diaz 2, and a host of other topics.
On the subject of future fights, Diaz was clear that the promotion needed to meet his number, though he was coy about how much it would take to actually get him back in the octagon. He also felt the UFC was trying to build fighters like Tony Ferguson off his name, and ridiculed an attempt to book him against Eddie Alvarez. Alvarez, according to Diaz, had already turned down a chance to face him.
“I ain’t asking for no money fights, because you know what? I am the money fight” Diaz explained. He later added that he wouldn’t be fighting until “it’s all the way right financially, or somebody steps their game up and makes me want to fight them.” After all, it’s race season. Both Diaz brothers are triathletes.
Speaking to TMZ, White was unsure of the future for both Nate and Nick Diaz. As to Nate not fighting in 2017, the UFC President didn’t seem shocked. “He doesn’t need to fight in 2017. The guy made a lot of money, he’s probably good.”
White did not, however, sound hopeful for a future Diaz brother appearance in the UFC. “I don’t know if those guys will ever fight again. We offer them fights all the time” White said. “We offer fights, and they turn them down. I don’t know what he wants. That’s up to them. If they want to fight next week, or if they never want to fight again, that’s up to them, it’s not up to me” he continued.
When the possibility of the brothers never fighting again was aired, White was pessimistic: “They don’t seem like they want to fight, no. Neither one of them.”
