LAS VEGAS — Nick Diaz is not missing in action.
Diaz’s agent Lloyd Pierson told MMAFighting.com on Wednesday morning that Diaz is accounted for and “everyone knows where he is.”
The first UFC Embedded episode for UFC 183 implied that Diaz missed his flight from Sacramento on Tuesday. On Wednesday morning, UFC president Dana White tweeted a graphic of Nick Diaz on a milk carton, asking everyone if they knew where Diaz was.
#WhereIsNickDiaz #UFC183 #UFC pic.twitter.com/CFYjXxKRnJ
— Dana White (@danawhite) January 28, 2015
Pierson said the UFC is just messing around. Diaz, who meets Anderson Silva in the main event of UFC 183 on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, has a past history of skipping out on media obligations.
“It’s just the spinning at work,” Pierson said.
Diaz did not miss his flight Tuesday, Pierson said. He did not get on his originally scheduled flight, but that was the plan all along. Diaz, Pierson said, will be arriving in Las Vegas on Wednesday morning and will be on time to open workouts Wednesday afternoon. As of 10 a.m. PT, though, Diaz was not in the air en route here.
“This isn’t the old Nick not showing up,” Pierson said. “There were some logistical issues. Everything is on schedule now.
“Everyone knew what was going on. The camera made it seem like he missed his flight. He didn’t get on his original flight and everyone knew he wasn’t getting on his original flight.”
Diaz (26-9, 1 NC) has not fought since March 2013, a welterweight title loss to Georges St-Pierre. Still, the Stockton bad boy, known for his relentless pace, iron chin and idiosyncratic interviews, is one of the most popular figures in MMA and this bout with Silva, the greatest UFC champion of all time, is highly anticipated.
The Silva fight is one Diaz had been targeting for a long time. He had been in a state of semi-retirement before hooking up with Pierson and his agency, the Ballengee Group, last spring. Diaz and Pierson were able to land the big-money Silva fight in July.
Pierson fully expects Diaz to be at the MGM Grand on Wednesday morning. And White does, too, the agent said.
“Everyone knows where he is,” Pierson said. “He’s fine. Dana knows where Nick is.”