UFC president Dana White: ‘I don’t even know’ what Nate Diaz wants

Nate Diaz says he’s ‘sick of sitting around’ and wants to return to the Octagon by May, but UFC president Dana White insists the Californian has no interest in fighting anytime soon.

White, the UFC’s long-time head promoter, reiterated that the younger Diaz brother has rejected every fight they’ve offered him, telling TMZ Sports that he has no idea what his true motivations are.

“We’ve been offering [Nate Diaz] fights. Guys don’t just come out and say ‘I want fights’ and then we don’t react on it,” White said in a recent interview, per MMA Weekly’s Damon Martin. “We’ve been hitting him up since the last time he fought, offering him fights and he’s not interested in fighting. I don’t know why he’s saying it.

“I don’t even know what fight he wants. Obviously, if Conor [McGregor] was available, he’d take that fight. It’s a big money fight for sure.”

Diaz, a former UFC lightweight title challenger, hasn’t fought since August 2016, when he lost a majority decision to Conor McGregor in their pulsating five-round welterweight rematch at UFC 202.

The 32-year-old is still the only fighter to topple ‘The Notorious’ in the Octagon, having submitted McGregor on short notice in the blockbuster UFC 196 main event at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Diaz said he’s interested in a welterweight title bout against reigning champion Tyron Woodley, but White insists that the UFC has no interest in the match-up.

Older brother Nick Diaz, on the other hand, is reportedly interested in making a comeback in 2018: “I think Nick Diaz is interested in fighting right now,” White said.

Nate, who trains and spars alongside Nick at Cesar Gracie Jiu Jitsu, could go on to face the winner of Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov if McGregor remains absent for the rest of the year.