Dana White and Nate Diaz don’t always see eye to eye, and there was one time when stern words nearly turned to fists.
Diaz revealed in an interview with ESPN yesterday that he and the UFC president came close to blows followingThe Ultimate Fighter season 20 finale in 2014, when the cast migrated to a nightclub to celebrate the season wrapping up. Both White and the Stockton native had been drinking that night, and tensions seemed to be at a boiling point.
“I almost beat up Dana White in a club one time here too, you should’ve seen it,” Diaz told ESPN. “He was talking shit. … You should ask him. He was talking shit and I was arguing with him. I was mad at him – I shouldn’t have been mad at him, I understand.
“It was a long time ago when Gilbert [Melendez] did The Ultimate Fighter [20]. … Everybody had gotten off the show and then we went to the club when Dana and them were having a big afterparty, and then Dana’s all [drunk]. He’s all, ‘What’s up, motherfucker?’
“I was like, what’s up? And he’s telling me about, ‘What do you want?’ I was like, ‘What the fuck do you think I want? More money and more fucking better fights than everyone here.’ It’s because I was never on the destination [path] for a title though, at the time.”
With Diaz being fed to a who’s who of lightweight elite at that time, and earning a base pay of just $16,000 per fight during the seven years he’d spent with the promotion, his qualms with the president at the time seem somewhat understandable.
The AllStar MMA roundup
- UFC 279: Gilbert Burns sees Khamzat Chimaev finishing Nate Diaz early by TKO
- UFC 279: Julian Erosa likely to make the fight down & dirty against “clean striker” Hakeem Dawodu
- UFC 279: Chad Anheliger says he wants to finish Heili Alateng – “I want to just beat this guy up”
- UFC 279: Darian Weeks clarifies UFC Paris dropout, ready to open UFC 279 with a bang
The best of the rest
- Nate Diaz didn’t ask for, still doesn’t want Khamzat Chimaev fight at UFC 279: ‘They’re acting like I called for this’ – MMAFighting.com
- DWCS Season 6, Week 7 results: Vitor Petrino punctuates 4-contract night with highlight-reel knockout – MMAFighting.com
- Alessio Di Chirico announces MMA retirement after UFC Paris loss: ‘It’s the right time to stop’ – MMAjunkie.com
- Paulo Costa wants Robert Whittaker for final fight on UFC deal: ‘I hope he doesn’t change divisions before then’ – MMAJunkie.com
- ‘No point in rushing’ – Paddy Pimblett reveals when he’d like to face a ranked UFC opponent – Bloodyelbow.com
The soapbox
Looks like Till vs Du Plessis is in the works:
Nate Diaz is in town:
Cris Cyborg discusses the potential Kayla Harrison matchup:
Cody working on his chin:
Good things come in threes:
Ben Askren’s UFC 279 prediction:
And his feelings towards Silva vs Paul:
Brunson puts on his teammate:
Cutman Tate is leveling up his skills in order to take on Gilbert Burns:
The morning view
Gilbert Burns likes Oliveira over Makhachev:
UFC 279 Embedded episode two drops:
Dan Hardy breaks down Tony Ferguson vs Li Jingliang:
Volk makes his picks for UFC 279:
Done deals
Wednesday
- Loma Lookboonmee to fight Denise Gomes at UFC Vegas 60 on September 17th (per UFC announcement)
Tuesday
- none to note
Monday
- Fernie Garcia to fight Brady Hiestand at UFC event on November 19th (per Alex Behunin)
On this day in MMA…
On the 7th of September, 2019, Khabib Nurmagomedov made his second title defense at UFC 242, when he defeated Dustin Poirier.
Nurmagomaedov submitted Poirier in the third round with a rear-naked choke after the Dagestan wrestler escaped a close guillotine attempt early, extending his perfect record to 28-0.
Nurmagomedov would defend his title once more before retiring from the sport. Poirier clawed his way back to the title in 2021 but suffered the same fate in the same round.
