Nate Diaz slams UFC after 25th anniversary presser: ‘I’m not fighting on that show, f—k the UFC’

Nate Diaz made his return to the stage earlier today (Fri., Aug. 3, 2018) for UFC’s 25th anniversary press conference (full replay here) from inside The Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, Calif., but it didn’t last as long as you’d think.

After being brought out late on stage to a wave of cheers, Diaz squared off with lightweight contender Dustin Poirier. The two are scheduled to lock horns at UFC 230 this November from inside Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Diaz, who hasn’t competed since losing a majority decision to Conor McGregor back at UFC 202 nearly two years ago, didn’t really have too much to say about his return to the limelight.

“It’s time to go,” Diaz said when asked why he chose to fight Poirier. “It’s a championship fight right here.”

After countless attempts to book the Stockton native a return to the Octagon, things finally seemed to be moving in the right direction between Diaz and UFC. That was until Diaz disappeared off stage at the presser during the promo video for McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov, which is scheduled to take place at UFC 229 on Oct. 6 from Las Vegas.

Diaz had the following to say about his UFC 230 matchup with “Diamond” after leaving the stage:

What do we make of that?

While it’s still unclear what’s going on between Diaz and UFC, their relationship is seemingly still damaged. Diaz hasn’t competed in quite some time so he was probably hoping for a little more promotion for his co-main event clash with “Diamond” at MSG this November.

Instead, Diaz had to look up and see McGregor’s face plastered all over the big screen.

Mixed martial arts (MMA) journalist Danny Austin caught Diaz’s reaction outside of the venue after he stormed out of the press conference.

We’ll have to wait and see what this means for Diaz vs. Poirier. If Diaz doesn’t feel as if the promotion is marketing him enough leading up to UFC 230 it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the 33-year-old jump ship.

Stick with Mania for ongoing updates.