Dana White Challenged About Nick Diaz: ‘We Can Fight’

Dana White, Nick Diaz

Getty UFC president Dana White isn't sure about Nick Diaz's rumored return.

UFC president Dana White was challenged by ex-UFC star Dan Hardy to release Nick Diaz from his UFC contract so that Hardy and Diaz can fight for a rival MMA promoter in Japan. Both Hardy, 38, and Diaz, 37, currently desire fights but have been unable to secure them from White and the UFC. Hardy offered his challenge to White about releasing Diaz from his UFC contract on Wednesday via social media.

He posted, “If Uncle Dana doesn’t think @nickdiaz209 actually wants to fight, they should release him so we can fight on #Rizin in Japan. Oldschool #PrideFC style. The #GoldenAge of #MMA”.

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Hardy Remains Estranged from UFC

Hardy remains estranged from the UFC. He was working as an analyst for the company until he was dumped after reports surfaced of an argument he had with a UFC staff member. “The Outlaw” hasn’t competed as a pro fighter since 2012, so that essentially left the MMA star without work with the company.

Meanwhile, Diaz hasn’t competed since 2015. He’s been reported to be on the comeback trail for over a year now, and recent pictures of the star reveal the fighter to be in what appears to be fighting shape.

However, White doesn’t seem so keen on putting Diaz back inside the Octagon anytime soon. After meeting with Diaz at UFC 261 last month about the fighter’s potential future, White revealed to ESPN he wasn’t sure the UFC star would get back in the cage.

“My whole thing with Nick Diaz is I just question how bad he really wants to fight,” White said. “We got together. We had a great conversation, talked about a possible comeback for him. I just don’t know. We’ll see how it plays out this summer and the rest of this year.”

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UFC Probably Won’t Release Either Star

Both Hardy and Diaz are still under contract with the UFC. Both stars would need the company to release them from those contracts to fight under another promotional entity.

Hardy knows that’s unlikely to happen, so it seems he’s just doing whatever he can on social media to get White’s attention.

Hardy has been adamant since he was kicked to the curb by the UFC that he would like to discuss with White the matter that preceded his exit, but the welterweight hasn’t been able to secure that talk.

Still, it’s probably fun for fight fans to think about the possibility of Diaz vs. Hardy finally happening. Both stars have teased returns over the years, and a fight between the two popular UFC legends could make some sense.

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