Dana White does not seem to be happy with Nate Diaz. Diaz signed on to co-headline UFC 230 opposite Dustin Poirier at 155 pounds. Its been two years since Diaz has competed inside the Octagon. He last competed in a Majority Decision loss to Conor McGregor in 2016.
Now, Diaz is back for one of the biggest fights of the year. Fans are excited to have Diaz back, and they’re even more excited about what he’s been trying to do lately. Talk amongst Diaz and Poirier on social media has begun a campaign to implement a new 165-pound division. In fact, both men would like their fight at UFC 230 to be for the inaugural title.
Dana White spoke to TMZ Sports recently on the matter. He has seen the chatter on social media about a possible 165-pound title bout between Diaz and Poirier. The UFC boss calls the rumors “nutty as hell”:
“I definitely saw that,” White said. “It’s nutty as hell. The guy signed a deal to fight at 155 pounds against Poirier – from the minute the deal was signed and he went out on stage, he’s just been, you know – it’s completely weird. That’s what it is.”
Diaz has also been suggesting that he might not even show up to the fight. White believes despite the social media banter, the Stockton native will show up on fight night. However, due to Diaz’s comments, White says he has heard some people think the fight is actually not happening:
“He has to, yeah,” White said. “The guy signed a deal, tickets went on sale, all this stuff is in motion – you can’t just sign a deal and then do the things he’s doing right now, and not fight. If you look at what he’s doing, I swear to God I had some police officers come in here this afternoon and say ‘Ah man, it sucks, the Diaz fight is off.’ Most people think that the fight isn’t even on because of waht he’s doing on social media.
Finally, White doubled down on his claim that there won’t be a 165-pound title fight happening at UFC 230:
“Not only will there not, we did not ever discuss that with him, was never an option, or anything.”
Do you think Diaz vs. Poirier will have a 165-pound title on the line?
