UFC President Dana White and longtime UFC fighter Nate Diaz have had an awkward relationship throughout the years.
Diaz insists that he should be paid the right amount of money to compete in the Octagon again, especially for a third fight with UFC Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor.
However, the UFC President does question what kind of value that Diaz brings without McGregor opposite him.
“Whatever his deal is, he’s got a pretty good deal,” White said to Yahoo Sports. “I mean, listen, at the end of the day, what is Diaz worth without Conor McGregor? I don’t know. The kid isn’t in a position for pay-per-view or any of that type of [stuff]. But this could put him in a position. If he fought Tony Ferguson, it would be for the interim title. Obviously, if you held the interim title, you would get a piece of the pay-per-view. Diaz has to put himself in a position to make the pay-per-view money.”
In their two meetings inside of the Octagon, the Stockton native defeated McGregor at UFC 196 and then McGregor defeated him at UFC 202.
White says that his life doesn’t change either way whether or not Nate returns to the Octagon, with the same being said about brother Nick.
“It doesn’t frustrate me at all [that they’re inactive] because I’ve learned that you can’t make people fight, man. It’s the same thing when people ask me, ‘What if this guy retires,’ or ‘What if that guy retires?’ This is a business that, your head has to be in this game. You have to want to become a world champion. You have to want to fight. You have to go through everything it takes to get into the cage. It doesn’t frustrate me at all. We’ll keep offering the Diaz brothers fights until one of them says yes or they never fight again. It doesn’t change my life one way or another. People really like the Diaz brothers. When they get in there, they’re tough and gritty and they mix it up. They’re fun to watch and their interviews are fun, and funny. They’re popular guys. But at the end of the day, people are excited about guys who want to win world titles and they want to find out who the best fighters in the world are in each weight class. Those are the things that sell and those are the things that people are interested in,” says White.
UFC 211 will be the next time we see the UFC President, the event takes place on Saturday, May 13 in Dallas, Texas.
