UFC: Nick Diaz doesn’t have ‘love or passion’ to fight again, thinks Dana White
- UFC president says Nick Diaz has reached out to matchmakers over return
- ‘If you’re not in the right mindset, this is not the place for you,’ warns White
Jorge Masvidal and Nick Diaz are both down to fight each other. But Dana White doesn’t think it’s going to happen.
Diaz said he wanted to avenge his brother Nate Diaz’s loss to Masvidal for the “BMF” belt in their UFC 244 main event, and “Gamebred” agreed as long as “Nick gets his stuff straightened out”.
Diaz hasn’t fought since 2015, when he received a five-year ban and US$165,000 fine from Usada for a second failed marijuana test. The sentence and fine were reduced to 18 months and US$100,000, following an appeal in January 2016. He also accepted a one-year Usada sanction in April 2018 for failing to report his whereabouts to Usada three times, but is effectively now eligible to compete.
“Well, I haven’t heard from Nick but I know our matchmakers have,” White told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. “But I said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t think Nick Diaz wants to fight.
“I don’t think Nick has that love and that passion for fighting. I think it’s sort of a love/hate relationship for him. All the things Nick has is because of fighting, but I don’t think he loves to do it.”
