Dana White discusses future of Nate Diaz with the UFC
With only one fight remaining on his contract and a plethora of potential opponents ready to fight, Nate Diaz has a choice to make and it’s not just about who he will fight next. Diaz, a longtime veteran of the UFC and one of the most popular fighters in the sport is facing an uncertain future ahead of him, and UFC President Dana White shed some light on it.
As Diaz approaches the final fight of his contract names like Vicente Luque and Tony Ferguson have been thrown around (mainly by Diaz), but for Dana White, the future of Diaz comes down to what he believes about himself and his fighting career. In an interview with Aaron Bronsteter White said the future of Diaz depends on himself and if he thinks he can accomplish great things, the UFC is where he should be.
Dana White on Nate Diaz's future beyond his next bout: "If you believe that you are one of the best in the world and you believe that you can win a world title here or hang with the top-5, then this is where you should be."
Full interview: https://t.co/W2lencCYzp pic.twitter.com/J66up5VGQV
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) October 25, 2021
“That’s up to him. That’s a decision he needs to make. For a lot of these guys, there’s no secret about it. If you believe that you are one of the best in the world and you believe that you can win a world title here or hang with the Top-5, then this is where you should be. The minute you start doubting that that’s the case you gotta start looking at other options.”
Recently, former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos revealed he felt he was treated poorly during the final fights of his UFC tenure and said the UFC practically forced him to take his last couple of fights, or they would just cut him. Dana White used the situation with dos Santos to look at Nate Diaz who is 36-years old and on a two-fight losing streak.
“There comes a time and a day where I have to make a decision when a guy keeps losing and he’s at a certain age, this just isn’t the place to be anymore. There’s tons of other places where you can go fight and where you can make a lot of money. A lot of these guys once they’ve built and establish their name here, move on to these other promotions and make crazy money, and good for them. That’s just how it works.”
While Dana White is uncertain as to what Diaz is currently thinking, he threw out an interesting tidbit of what Nate Diaz could sign if he decides to re-sign with the promotion.
“As far as Nate Diaz goes, I don’t know where Nate feels he is right now and what he feels his future could be if he signed another four-fight deal here.”
If Nate Diaz did decide to re-sign with the UFC, he would have no shortage of opponents including potential rematches with Conor McGregor and Jorge Masvidal, as well as new opponents like Luque and Ferguson. It would be a shock to see Diaz and the UFC part ways, but crazier things have happened.
