UFC Prez Dana White Speaks On A Nate Diaz, Jake Paul Fight
UFC's Nate Diaz is pressing company chief Dana White to find him another fight or allow for his release from the UFC.
White commented on Diaz's outcry and told him to hit up Jake Paul if he's that desperate for a match.
“I mean, I like Nate. Let’s be honest, Nate’s won one fight in the last five or six years,” White said in an interview with TheMacLife.
“You know? When these guys get into these positions, you’ve got guys that have been with us for a long time, that we respect, that we care about," White added, "You know, you’ve got Cerrones and Anthony Pettis before he left, and you’ve got Nate Diaz and Nick Diaz is still under contract with us. So you want to be fair to everybody, you want to do the right things or whatever. Nate Diaz isn’t going to come in and fight Kamaru Usman.
“So listen, we’re trying to do the best we can. We’re trying not to s*** on anybody and disrespect anybody, but it’s not like we’re talking about Kamaru Usman here. We’re talking about Nate Diaz. Nate’s won one fight in five years, so we’re trying to figure this thing out with him. He probably should go on and fight Jake Paul. That’s a fight that makes sense.”
Paul caught wind of the exchange and tried to bait Dana into letting him enter the Octagon, which the celebrity boxer has long sought after going 5-0 in the ring.
“Dana - I’m happy to be Nate’s last fight in UFC. You know the terms: pay fighters more and give them healthcare. Sweetener: I will fight for free,” Paul tweeted, resurfacing his messaging for fighters' rights.
Paul is scheduled to face off against Tommy Fury on August 6, live from MSG. The 37-year-old Diaz has been floated as a potential headliner for UFC 278.
Follow along on Twitter: @AlejandroAveela