Nick Diaz may not be returning at UFC 235 after all.
Just recently, the UFC had confirmed that Diaz was expected to face Jorge Masvidal in a welterweight bout at UFC 235 on March 2 in Las Vegas, but now the former title contender is saying that he never actually agreed to the matchup in the first place.
“I think it’s rude of the UFC to try and lowball me and expect me to negotiate a deal while I’m training for a fight,” Diaz told ESPN on Sunday. “It’s not gonna go down like that. If anybody wants to fight me they know where to find me. I’m not a hard guy to find. Come get some.
“I have a lot going on trying to manage a few different businesses. Once things make sense for everybody in that they actually have some fighters that they respect and I respect, we can try and come to a deal and do a show. That’s how I feel.”
Diaz apparently has no issues with Masvidal but he obviously doesn’t sound all that interested in the matchup in what would be his first fight back in over four years.
Just recently, UFC president Dana White confirmed the fight was scheduled to take place but it sounds like once again the promotion remains at odds with one of the more popular fighters on the roster.
“As soon as I am in a good place with what I’m working on and things look the way it should, I’ll be happy to give the fans what they need,” Diaz stated. “But I think they will be OK for now with what’s out there. There aren’t any fights for me until someone stands out.
“I’ll fight if they can be more reasonable, but, really, I didn’t even talk about what it would or could [take]. They are the one’s tripping.”
There had been rumors about Diaz mounting a comeback in recent months but it seems he is still content on the sidelines for the time being.
The UFC has struggled recently to book either Nick or his younger brother Nate Diaz in fights. The elder Diaz hasn’t fought since 2015 in a middleweight bout against former champion Anderson Silva while Nate last stepped into the cage in 2016 when he faced Conor McGregor in a rematch at UFC 202.
