UFC president Dana White seems to be working hard to coax Nick Diaz out of retirement, now offering him a fight at 185 pounds against Lyoto Machida.
White made the revelations during a Q&A at a fundraiser.
“I talked to Diaz today, and I made him an offer, so we’ll see what happens,” White said, according to MMA Junkie. “He had been talking about going to 185 pounds. Machida has been talking about going to 185 pounds. So we wanted to see if he wanted to fight Machida at 185.”
Neither Diaz nor Machida have fought at 185 pounds for the UFC, but they have expressed an interest to do so before.
Last month, having just broken up with his girlfriend, Diaz expressed an interest in fighting the winner of UFC 162‘s main event between Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman. Having lost two fights at welterweight in a row, including one to champion Georges St-Pierre, that wish was hardly likely to be granted.
Enter Machida.
The Brazilian is also coming off a loss and was earlier this week linked to a possible fight against fellow countryman Vitor Belfort at 185 pounds.
It seems that match is now off the cards.
“I wanted Machida to fight Vitor Belfort, but Vitor Belfort is his own matchmaker, apparently,” White said. “He wants to make his own fights.”
Machida had long avoided dropping down from 205 pounds so long as his friend, Silva, was champion in the division below. But with Silva losing the title, and the chances of Machida getting a shot at light heavyweight slim, the timing could be perfect for him to make the move.
Diaz, who announced his decision to quit the sport after losing to St-Pierre, has been looking for marquee fights to coax him back into the Octagon. It’s far from clear whether a fight against Machida would do that, and White said the Stockton native has yet to respond to the offer.
If he does, the fight could take place in November at UFC 167, which was the proposed event for Machida vs. Belfort.
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