In November, UFC President Dana White said Nick Diaz agreed to fight Jorge Masvidal at UFC 235.
Having never previously talked about the reported fight, Diaz denied he had signed a bout agreement to ESPN over the weekend.
UFC 235 is set for March 2nd in Las Vegas and if Diaz were to compete on the card, it would be his first fight in four years.
But it looks like Nick Diaz’s fans will have to wait a while longer to see him step into the Octagon once again.
“I think it’s rude of the UFC to try and lowball me and expect me to negotiate a deal while I’m training for a fight,” Diaz said. “It’s not gonna go down like that. If anybody wants to fight me they know where to find me. I’m not a hard guy to find. Come get some.
”I have a lot going on trying to manage a few different businesses. Once things make sense for everybody in that they actually have some fighters that they respect and I respect, we can try and come to a deal and do a show. That’s how I feel.”
Diaz’s last Octagon outing saw him drop a decision to former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 183. However, the Brazilian’s victory was later overturned to a No Contest as Silva tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, while Diaz tested positive for marijuana.
Following the failed drug test, Diaz was handed a mammoth suspension of five years back in 2015, though Diaz successfully appealed the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s initial ruling and his suspension was reduced to 18 months with a $100,000 fine – a reduction on the $165,000 fine originally given.
In April, Diaz accepted a one-year USADA sanction for failing to notify the testers of his whereabouts on three occasions from the third quarter of 2016 to the first quarter 2017. The sanction was retroactive to April 2017, meaning Diaz has been eligible to fight since April of this year.
Given his four-year hiatus away from the sport, Diaz has used that time to start up some business ventures independently, away from the UFC. Because of that, he says he needs an offer from the UFC to be worth his while before fighting for the promotion once again.
“As soon as I am in a good place with what I’m working on and things look the way it should, I’ll be happy to give the fans what they need,” Diaz said. “But I think they will be OK for now with what’s out there. There aren’t any fights for me until someone stands out.
”I’ll fight if they can be more reasonable, but, really, I didn’t even talk about what it would or could [take]. They are the one’s tripping.”
But it appears Diaz is keeping an eye on his welterweight division despite his time off and he doesn’t appear to be to impressed by reigning UFC welterweight king Tyron Woodley.
“I’ll walk through Woodley,” Diaz continued. “He knows it. I didn’t need to say [in response to him]. That man has a life. I fight for one, like I always have.”
As you would expect, Woodley fired back in kind.
