Why Nate Diaz never wants to fight on the same card as brother Nick

It's a dream scenario for fans of Stockton's most famous siblings: Nick and Nate Diaz fighting together on the same card. Even better, for symbolic value, if it's at UFC 209, which should go down some time early next year.

But Nate Diaz isn't a fan of the idea. The brothers Diaz have never competed on the same event during their combined 65 pro MMA fights, and if the younger brother has his way, it'll never happen.

"I don't like to fight on the same card as anyone I train with, or my brother, especially," Diaz said on Wednesday's special edition of The MMA Hour.

While that might not be what their fans want to hear, it's also not too hard to understand the logic behind Diaz's thinking. Fighting is one of the most selfish of sports, and worrying about how someone close to you is going to do in their fight could distract you from your focus on your own bout.

"I think fighting is a selfish sport," Diaz said. "You ain't got time to think about anybody else but yourself, you know? For the training leading up to that fight, it should be all about you, a little bit. Or whoever is the guy fighting."

The Pettis brothers, Anthony and Sergio, are a case in point. Anthony lost his UFC lightweight title in a one-sided fight to Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 185 after watching his brother lose on the undercard, and both brothers complained about it afterward.

And while Diaz wasn't specifically talking about the Pettises, his words would seem to apply to any relatives fighting on the same night.

"Fight night should all be about you and what you gotta do, and you shouldn't have to be worrying about anyone else," Diaz said. "Otherwise, you're not going to be focused on yourself. I don't want that sh*t going on in my head."

The topic is newly relevant, of course, because Nick will soon be free to re-apply for his fighters' license, as his Nevada suspension for marijuana ends this summer. For his part, Nate believes his brother will return to competition, but even he's not sure when.

"I think he will [return]," Diaz said. "There's needs to be, Nick's a big deal, a special human being, a special badass. There aren't many made like him. I can't predict what he'll do, he's so unpredictable. Even for me, and I know him better than most people. I still have no f*cking clue what he's going to do."