Chalk this one up to clearer heads prevailing. Dana White spoke to the MMA media over the weekend and among his various announcements and statements was an update on the potential of a fight between Nick Diaz and Lyoto Machida.
"That was a bad idea," he said. "The Diaz-Machida thing I was—I'm going to throw Joe SIlva under the bus again. That was Joe Silva's idea. It was a bad idea."
...
"No," he said. "Diaz didn't turn it down. There's other things going on with Diaz." (via MMA Fighting)
It's interesting to note that Diaz did not turn down a fight with Machida and I'm not entirely sure he would have. It sounds more like the UFC is losing interest in doing business with him altogether. If they feel like the headaches involved in working with him are greater than his marketability Diaz may quickly be going from voluntary to mandatory retirement status. Ultimately this news still raises questions as to who Machida faces next, and where. A potential matchup with Vitor Belfort fell by the wayside as well and suggests that no matter what fight Machida gets in the coming months it will probably be at middleweight.
Tim Kennedy has thrown his hat into the ring as he's been looking for a high profile fight since his victory over Roger Gracie back at UFC 162.
So what do you think? Will Nick Diaz ever fight again? Is Machida finally making the drop to 185? Does anyone want to see him fight Tim Kennedy? Does evidence that dinosaurs were warm blooded mean that Vitor can fight outside the warm climes of Brazil? Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow for more fight news and announcements.
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