Dana White unsure about Nick Diaz’ future in the UFC

“My whole thing with Nick Diaz is that I just question how bad he really wants to fight”.

Great conversation or not, Dana White doesn’t sound too optimistic about Nick Diaz’ future in the UFC.

White spoke to Diaz backstage at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, FL. following UFC 261 and, although the meeting went well, White admits Diaz didn’t exactly sell him on a comeback.

“(The meeting) went good,” White told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto in a recent interview (h/t BJPenn.com). “My whole thing with Nick Diaz is that I just question how bad he really wants to fight. We got together, we had a great conversation, and 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 the year”.

The UFC president is also concerned with the amount of time Diaz has spent on the sidelines, with the latter not having fought since his controversial No Contest (NC) against Anderson Silva at UFC 183.

“Just the amount of time that he’s taken off already,” White continued. “When you hear him talk about fighting when you hear him talk about the sport. And I sit down daily or talk to daily hungry, young savages who want to break into the top-10 and become world champions and all the stuff. And Nick Diaz has done it all and seen it all and he’s been in big fights. I just don’t see that in him when I talk to him”.

Diaz hasn’t requested a specific opponent, but it was initially rumored that the former Strikeforce welterweight champion was targeting a fight against undefeated UFC welterweight and middleweight prospect Khamzat Chimaev. His manager, however, shot down those rumors last week.

Diaz has been inactive for the last six years and hasn’t officially won a fight since 2011, when he beat UFC Hall of Famer B.J. Penn in a welterweight matchup at UFC 137.