Nate Diaz came out a few day ago to claim that the UFC was holding him “hostage,” refusing to give him fights even though he was accepting them.
Diaz’s beef with the UFC and seeming inability to get a fight has played out over social media for months. The Stockton native took that feud to a new level when he appeared on a special edition of The MMA Hour to air his grievances and claim he wanted the promotion to book the final fight on his contract, so he could pursue opportunities elsewhere.
In particular, Diaz claimed the company was holding him hostage, letting him sit for over a year since his fight against Leon Edwards.
“When isn’t Nate Diaz saying something crazy?” UFC President Dana White retorted during the UFC Long Island post-fight press conference. “I’ve said this a million times and I’ll say it again: we can’t hold guys hostage. It’s not possible. I owe you three fights a year. If I don’t fight you three times a year, I have to pay you. How can I hold him hostage?”
When a follow-up question was fielded about the promotion’s plans for Diaz, White responded by saying “What do you think my plans are? We’re going to get him a fight.”
White did not elaborate on why he’s struggled to get Diaz active for over a year. And he stayed mum on the specifics of any plan for the star.
“I don’t know. We’ll see what happens. I have to get him three fights a year. I offer him fights, he either accepts him or turns them down. And obviously I’m not paying him. I’ve offered him fights.”
When asked if that meant Diaz had turned down fights — something he denied during his one-on-one with The MMA Hour — White bristled. “This is the bullsh*t game that I’m not going to play. I’m not going to play this f*cking game where you ask me ‘oh let’s talk more about Nate Diaz,’ and then you’re going to go out and write f*cking— or whoever’s watching this [says], ‘oh he said he turns down fights.’ I’m not playing that game.”
Diaz previously stated that he asked for fights with numerous parties, with the bouts failing to materialize. While admitting that he questioned the offer to fight Khamzat Chimaev, Diaz added that he eventually accepted the fight — only for the UFC to go in another direction.
Nate Diaz last competed on June 12, 2021.
