Welcome once again to another episode of “As The Diaz Turns.”
The latest out of Stockton, Calif., according to UFC president Dana White, is that wildly popular anti-hero Nick Diaz has turned down a new fight offer and remains firmly entrenched in his retirement.
“I offered Nick Diaz a fight last week and his manager called me back saying he’s retired,” White told the media after the card at UFC Fight Night 32, according to a report from Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting.
There were no additional details available on what fight Diaz was offered or when such a fight might have taken place.
White has long been open about his desire to lure Diaz, one of the sport’s most lucrative financial draws, back to the Octagon. Last month, the prez floated middleweight standout Michael Bisping as a possible return opponent for the Stockton bad boy.
That speculation came close on the heels of Diaz teammate Gilbert Melendez’s assertion that Diaz, a welterweight champion in the Strikeforce promotion, would return to the cage if given “the right opportunity.”
Apparently, the right opportunity hasn’t yet presented itself. Diaz originally retired following his loss to welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre in March but said he’d like a rematch with St-Pierre or a face-off with then-middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva.
In the same post-fight news conference, Diaz surprised onlookers by offering what appeared to be an unsolicited admission of income tax evasion.
Over the years, the 30-year-old Diaz (26-9-1) has gained a huge following for his antagonistic boxing style in the cage, as well as a strange combination of public reticence and remarkable candor outside the cage.
Nick’s younger brother, Nathan Diaz, currently competes in the UFC lightweight division. Nathan Diaz, 28, will face fellow lightweight contender Gray Maynard later in November at the finale of The Ultimate Fighter 18. Nathan will likely receive plenty of questions about the status of his notorious older brother as his own fight approaches.
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