The difference between UFC president Dana White and Nate Diaz’s personal relationship and their business relationship is night and day.
Neither man has been shy to publicly speak about the other, with both airing their grievances while Diaz has been on the inactive list since his blockbuster rematch with Conor McGregor at UFC 202 back in August 2016. According to White, it’s Diaz who has chosen not to return to action, while Diaz has mentioned numerous incidents of disrespect on the part of his employers that have left him in no hurry to rush back to the Octagon.
During an appearance on The Jim Rome Show, White explained that he actually likes Diaz a lot, it’s when it comes down to putting pen to paper that things start to get ugly.
“Dealing with Nate, personally, is great,” White said. “I say this all the time, Nate is like this guy, what people love about him is like, he’s saying F U to the man all the time. But he never really says F U to the man, he never really does. When you meet Nate, Nate’s a great guy, I’ve always had a great relationship with the kid.
“Business-wise, he’s an absolute nightmare.”
White was asked to elaborate and he specifically pointed out that Diaz claiming that the UFC hasn’t been offering him fights is false.
“I saw an interview with him that he did with ESPN the other day where he’s saying he’s never turned down a fight,” White said. “Let me just explain something to you and the fans. By contract, I owe every fighter on my roster three fights a year. If I do not get them a fight—three fights in a one-year period—I have to pay them. I’ve never paid Nate Diaz to not fight. It’s never happened. There’s the facts, right?
“So when he says he doesn’t turn down fights, of course you turn down fights. Or I’d be paying you a ton of money every year to not fight.”
As for his thoughts on Diaz lighting up a CBD joint at the UFC 241 weigh-ins earlier this week, the UFC boss was nonplussed.
“I don’t know what to say,” White said. “I didn’t expect to ever see that in this sport or any sport, but you can always expect the unexpected with the Diaz brothers.”
Diaz competes for the first time in three years when he fights Anthony Pettis in the welterweight co-main event of UFC 241 on Saturday at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
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