It is not often that you’ll find the MMA community more abuzz than they were moments after Nate Diaz’s return was announced, and against Dustin Poirier no less, a contest widely expected to be an instant classic. Unfortunately, within 24 hours of the announcement, the emotional roller coaster began. It all started at the UFC 25th Anniversary Press Conference. As the UFC 229 main event between reigning UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor was being announced via video package, Nate Diaz exited the stage shortly after the video began.
Immediately after exiting, Diaz stood outside and let off some steam to TMZ. “They’re bad-mouthing me saying I turned down all these fights,” Diaz said, speaking with TMZ after the presser. “I’ve never turned down a fight in my life, and then they’re backing the other guy when they all got lawsuits,” Diaz said. ”And now, I got a lawsuit and Nate’s turning down fights? Kiss my ass.
“Fuck the UFC, fuck all this shit. If I feel like it, I’ll fight. We’ll see if I’m even fighting, we’ll see. They better start acting right for a start over-promoting instead of under-promoting. They brought me to this press conference late.”
It was reasonable at the time to hope that perhaps Diaz was blowing off some steam in the heat of the moment, perhaps due to something related to the Khabib/McGregor announcement. But as of last night, Diaz is still blowing: “I can’t commit when they actin like shit….” Diaz wrote on his twitter:
I can’t commit when they actin like shit….
— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) August 8, 2018
Dustin Poirier is on the record in saying that he is not concerned about whether or not the fight will take place. Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of fans cannot say the same as the Nate Diaz roller coaster is showing no signs of slowing down.
Do you believe Nate Diaz will make it to UFC 230?
