Dana White Questions Nick Diaz’s Desire to Fight, After Meeting With Star
By FCF Staff
Nick Diaz has reportedly said he wants to fight again, and he recently met with Dana White in an apparent step towards a return. But, the UFC President isn’t convinced that the 37-year-old has a real desire to fight again.
Diaz attended the recent UFC 261 card in Florida and met with White afterward. Since then, the latter spoke with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, and he was asked about Diaz.
Here is some of what White had to say (quotes via MMA Junkie).
“It went good. My whole thing with Nick Diaz is I just question how bad he really wants to fight. We got together, we had a great conversation, talked about a possible comeback for him, I just don’t know. We’ll see how it plays out this summer and the rest of this year.”
“It’s just the amount of time that he’s taken off already,” White said. “When you hear him talk about fighting, when you hear him talk about the sport – and I sit down daily or talk to daily hungry, young savages that want to break into the top 10, become world champions, all that stuff – Nick Diaz has done it all, seen it all. He’s been in big fights. I just don’t see that in him when I talk to him.”
White hasn’t, however, closed the door on Diaz fighting again.
He’s a grown man,” White said. “This guy says ‘I want to fight,’ we agreed to a fight, and doctors say he’s fit to fight, it has nothing to do with me. …”
Diaz (26-9. 2 NC), who has argued he should be paid more by the UFC in the past, hasn’t fought since 2015. In his last outing, Diaz lost via decision to Anderson Silva, but the result was overturned when Silva tested positive for banned substances.