LAS VEGAS – Dana White and Nate Diaz haven’t always seen eye-to-eye. That’s been well-documented in the public eye. However, the two UFC staples spoke publicly Tuesday for the first time about a different kind of altercation.
Hours prior to Dana White’s Contender Series 53 in Las Vegas, Diaz revealed in a UFC 279 fight week interview with ESPN the two nearly came to blows at a nightclub in the ballpark of nine years ago when his Scrap Pack teammate Gilbert Melendez was coaching “The Ultimate Fighter, Season 20” opposite then-lightweight champ Anthony Pettis.
“I almost beat Dana White up in a club here one time, too. You should’ve seen it. He was like, talking sh*t. Did he tell you about it? You should ask him. He was talking sh*t and then I was arguing with him. I was mad at him. I shouldn’t have been mad at him. I understood the business a long time ago. When was Gilbert (Melendez on) ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ with (Anthony Pettis)? I think when all the girls got off the show and Rose (Namajunas) won the thing, everybody had got out the show and then we went to the club with Dana. They were having a big afterparty.
“Dana was all (expletive). He was like, ‘What’s up (expletive)?’ I was like, ‘F*ck the UFC. I’m getting out of here.’ He was like, ‘What’s up?’ And I was like, ‘What’s up?’ And he was telling me about, ‘What do you want?’ I was like, ‘What the f*ck do you think I want? More money and better f*cking fights than anyone here, you (expletive).'”
Dana White was caught off guard when asked about the *alleged* time he and Nate Diaz nearly went at it in a nightclub years ago.
"We were drinking." 😅#UFC279 | Full interview: https://t.co/NgAAyWXeAU pic.twitter.com/zDi2wN3AIY
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) September 7, 2022
Hours after Diaz chuckled about altercations of yesteryears, White was asked the exact question Diaz suggested – to speak on the altercation of years past. White was visibly caught off guard when asked his side of the story, perhaps a skeleton in the closet he wasn’t expecting.
“Allegedly,” White said, laughing at a DWCS 53 post-fight news conference. “Allegedly. We were drinking. … Does anybody else have any other questions?”
The comments on the altercation continue the ongoing, turbulent relationship between Diaz and White, as the former is set to Saturday finish out his UFC deal. Diaz expressed feelings of disrespect and being used, hours before White sounded nostalgic Tuesday as he talked about Diaz’s potential free agency.
Diaz (20-13 MMA, 15-11 UFC) headlines UFC 279 against Khamzat Chimaev (11-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC). The card takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and streams on pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 279.
