Diaz appears to find the opportunity to step back into the octagon humorous.
When UFC president Dana White confirmed that he had offered Diaz a fight, fans will have undoubtedly been excited at the prospect of a return of the fan favorite. It seems that any hopes of seeing Nate Diaz in action should be put on ice, at least for the near future.
White has been recently vocal regarding his fruitless efforts in getting either Diaz brother back into the octagon, indicating a belief that neither brother has any intention of agreeing to any offer which may come their way. UFC’s president spoke with USA Today prior to the Super Bowl in Houston over the weekend:
“We just offered Nate Diaz a fight, and we’re waiting to hear back from him, so we’ll see,” said White. “These guys say they want a fight. I offered Nick Diaz two fights. He turned down two fights. I offered him Robbie Lawler. Robbie Lawler accepted the fight. Then I offered him Demian Maia. Nick Diaz turned down two fights. And then we just offered Nate a fight.”
Until recently, the general opinion in the MMA world was that matchmakers had earmarked Diaz and former lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez as a fixture, but the Stockton native has laughed off this proposition.
Following publicity pertaining to the mooted fight with Alvarez, Diaz responded via Twitter with a brief, yet unequivocal statement:
Lol at your fight…
— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) February 4, 2017
Diaz’s fortunes drastically changed following two fights with PPV cash-cow Conor McGregor, and it would seem that has affected the Californian’s attitude towards match-ups in the UFC; in short, Diaz will only return for “big fights”. The lightweight has also recently announced that he is looking towards a potential foray into boxing, which although unlikely, appears to give him options outside of the world.
If money is the primary factor behind Diaz’s recent apathy towards his MMA career, Dana White and the UFC may need to consider digging a little deeper if they intend to coax one of the more popular fighters on the roster into action.
