We’re just under 24 hours away from UFC Fight Night in Dublin, Ireland, a place they’ve not been to for 5 years. UFC president Dana White was available for a pre-fight media scrum just after the weigh-ins had completed.
Highlights of the scrum, which you can view by watching the video at the top of the post, include:
- Whether Conor McGregor would get a title shot by beating Diego Brandao.
- The injury that put Khabib Nurmagomedov out of his planned UFC 178 showdown with Donald Cerrone.
- Gina Carano’s immediate title shot vs. Ronda Rousey if she is signed by the UFC.
“I love Nate Diaz. Nate Diaz is actually one of my favorite kids. I always got along with Nate, Nate was always great. Lowest rated FOX show ever. Lowest rated FOX show ever. His numbers, he doesn’t pull the numbers in. Nick (Diaz) is a needle mover. Nick moves the needle. [Nate] doesn’t pull good numbers.“Listen, if Nate Diaz was the guy, we’d work it out in a minute. If you move the needle, those are the guys that make the big money. You realize he’s like 1-3 in his last three fights? He’s 1-3, he’s nowhere near a title fight, he’s never won a title, and he doesn’t move the needle.”
That’s not a typo, by the way. White did say that Diaz was 1-3 in his last 3 fights, which is mathematically incorrect on multiple levels, as 1+3 =/= 3 and he’s actually 1-2 in his last 3 and 2-2 in his last 4.
Beyond that, for someone who doesn’t move the needle, Diaz has been asked to headline 6 shows in his UFC career, including two Fox shows, an FS1 show, and a Fight Pass main event vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov before those plans fell through. Diaz has additionally been co-main event of the UFC’s NYE weekend PPV (UFC 141 vs. Donald Cerrone in 2011), and was a regular fixture on the old UFC Fight Nights on Spike TV. So if Nate Diaz is not much of a draw, how come the UFC has frequently had Diaz holding prominent positions on cable TV and PPV cards?
Hopefully there will be a conclusion to Nate Diaz vs. UFC soon, because it’s become a back-and-forth circus.
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