Diaz misses media events, dumped from UFC 137
For several years, Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White has said Nick Diaz could be a huge star if he would just play the game a little bit.
That proved too much to ask of the ultra-talented but brash 28-year old.
Diaz was removed from his scheduled UFC 137 welterweight title bout against Georges St. Pierre at Mandalay Bay on Oct. 29 after he failed to show up for news conferences promoting the fight on consecutive days.
“I’ve had my reservations about Nick Diaz for a long time,” White said. “You’ve heard me use the term ‘play the game.’ All I asked this kid to do was play the game this much. When we signed this fight, we sat down in my office and I said, ‘Let me tell you what kid. Add up all the purses of your career and you’re going to make so much more money for this fight. It will be the biggest fight of your life. But I need you to do certain things.’
“You have to promote this fight. You have to show up for press conferences. You can’t start fights at fights,’ and the list goes on of the things we needed from him, and Nick looked right in my face and lied to me and said he would do it.”
White made the announcement at a news conference at Mandalay Bay that was supposed to kick off ticket sales for the fight.
White stood at the podium with St. Pierre seated on one side and an empty seat with two water bottles, a microphone and an energy drink in the spot reserved for Diaz.
Carlos Condit, who was slated to face BJ Penn on the same card, has been promoted to the title shot against St. Pierre.
White said Condit began crying when told about the opportunity and had to call back 15 minutes later to work out the details.
Diaz, on the other hand, could not be reached.
White detailed the series of events that led to the decision to remove Diaz from the bout.
He missed a flight to Toronto on Monday for a scheduled Tuesday news conference and asked the UFC to rebook him for a Monday night flight. Diaz then texted White to tell him he wouldn’t be on that flight, either.
“I called and left him a message on Monday night, and I still haven’t heard back from him,” White said Wednesday.
White said Diaz’s manager asked for a third flight to be booked by the UFC, but once again the fighter did not make it. White said he woke up Wednesday morning to news Diaz wouldn’t make it to Las Vegas, either.
He made the decision then to remove Diaz from the event.
“I expected some stress and headaches over the next couple months, but I didn’t expect this,” White said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, White said both the UFC and Diaz’s camp were unaware of the fighter’s location.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.