If you’re holding your breath waiting for the return of Nick and Nate Diaz, you might want to exhale.
While both Diaz brothers have been booked in fights over the past few months — Nate was scheduled to face Dustin Poirier at UFC 230 and Nick was briefly connected to a matchup against Jorge Masvidal at UFC 235 — it appears neither one of them are expected to return any time soon.
That’s according to UFC president Dana White, who once again addressed the future of the Diaz brothers as many fans anxiously await either one of them to get booked in a fight.
“They don’t want to fight. Neither one of the Diaz brothers want to fight,” White revealed when appearing on ESPN’s Instagram account. “It’s up to them. I always say in this business, if you don’t want to fight, you shouldn’t fight. If you even consider retiring, you shouldn’t fight. If you don’t wake up everyday and you’re not fired up to get in there and fight, don’t do it.
“So no, if the Diaz brothers were fired up and they wanted to get out there and whatever, absolutely, I’d be excited about it, too, but if they’re not excited they absolutely shouldn’t [fight].”
Nate Diaz hasn’t competed since he lost a majority decision to Conor McGregor at UFC 202 back in 2016.
Nick Diaz has been out even longer with his last fight in 2015 when he faced Anderson Silva at middleweight.
Judging by White’s comments, he’s not expecting either one of them to appear in the Octagon any time soon.
The UFC will obviously continue to offer them opportunities because the standard contract with a promotion extends each time a fighter turns down a fight.
Unfortunately there’s no telling what exactly it will take to coax the Diaz brothers back into another fight.
