A continuing dispute about the time, cost and difficulty of shooting the interviews of UFC 158 Welterweight title challenger Nick Diaz required for the promotional Countdown special has UFC president Dana White considering pulling Diaz off the card.
White acknowledged that Diaz had fulfilled his obligations for the Countdown special but not until after the camera crew had wasted considerable time in Stockton.
Quotes transcribed by MMA Fighting.
“We spent over $50,000 on production costs and the guys are cruising around Stockton, Calif., not interviewing people. 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.”
When asked if he would consider pulling Diaz from the card as he did from the UFC 137 title fight after Diaz no-showed a press conference, White answered:
“I’m close, man. I’m really clos. 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.”
SBN coverage of UFC 158: St-Pierre vs. Diaz