If the UFC ever went all “Truman Show” and filmed the life of a fighter as it played out in real time, Nick Diaz would be a great candidate to be the star of the show.
Diaz has always been an intriguing and divisive character in the world of mixed martial arts. He’s definitely an individual who marches to the beat of his own drum—sometimes to his own detriment, like when he blows off media events and loses his chance at headlining a UFC pay-per-view event.
After losing to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 158, Diaz stood in the Octagon and told Joe Rogan that he was contemplating retirement. Then, about an hour later he made a surprise appearance at the post-fight press conference and called for a rematch with St-Pierre or a fight with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
There’s never a dull moment when it comes to Diaz, something that UFC president Dana White found out once again while The Ultimate Fighter 17 finale fight card was going on last weekend in Vegas. “It’s like the third fight on the main card and I get a text: ‘Hey, Nick Diaz needs three tickets to the show.’ I’m thinking San Jose, New Jersey, but no, tonight, he wants to go to the fights tonight,” White recalled.
“We got him three tickets right behind me. He took the three tickets and sat in the stands where all the fans were.” White then said that the UFC employee informed Diaz that his seats were cageside, to which Diaz reportedly replied, “We just want to sit here. If these people come back, we’ll move to other seats.”
“But that’s Nick Diaz, you know? I didn’t see him. I didn’t talk to him. I was going to say hi to him. I never saw him the whole night, he sat in the bleachers.”
As for his future with the promotion, White is keeping that door open, “If he wants to get him a fight, we’ll get him a fight.”
**all quotes obtained firsthand by BR MMA, unless noted.
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