ANAHEIM, Calif. — Things might not exactly be patched up between UFC president Dana White and Nick Diaz’s crew. But if nothing else, Diaz has finally shot the interviews the company expected him to conduct.
The latest row between White and his tempermental welterweight star came down in recent weeks. Diaz, who will fight champion Georges St-Pierre next month in the main event of UFC 158 in Montreal, allegedly blew off several attempts to tape him for an upcoming “UFC Countdown” series, costing the UFC $50,000 in the process.
But according to White, things moved forward after recent chats with Diaz’s lawyer, Jonathan Tweedale, and his trainer, Cesar Gracie.
“He did it,” White told reporters. “He did what he was supposed to do.”
Still, it’s clear White isn’t happy with Diaz. White awarded Diaz a title shot despite the fact Diaz was yanked from a planned Oct. 2011 bout with St-Pierre after Diaz no-showed a pair of press conferences. So White, after a big week of media work leading up to UFC 157, wasn’t pleased with Diaz’s behavior.
“We spent over $50,000 on production costs and the guys are cruising around Stockton, Calif., not interviewing people,” he said. “It’s not funny. It’s not funny. We’re very cool and very lenient in a lot of ways. I mean, look at this company, you know? We’re lenient on a lot of things we let a lot of things slide. But that’s just absolute bull–.
“That’s not cool, man. We treat Nate and Nick with respect. Any time they come in, they want to negotiate the contracts, we’re good to everybody, at least give us the respect to show up, and not blow 50 grand on interviews that you’re supposed to do.”
Would White consider yanking Diaz from a St-Pierre fight again?
“I’m close, man. I’m really close,” White said. “And I don’t want to be. You know, it sucks, none of this is easy, these two girls [Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche] worked their asses off this week, man, and I know what it feels like, it’s not fun. It’s part of the job. … This is how it work, okay? This is the job, this is what we do. Go to your job and tell your f—- boss ‘yeah I don’t want to do this or do that.’ It’s part of the job. I’ve showed the Diaz brothers a ton of respect, show some respect back.”