Dana White: Dustin Poirier vs. Nate Diaz Will Not Be at 165 Pounds, Has Never Been Discussed
As much as Dustin Poirier and Nate Diaz want to fight for a new 165-pound title, it’s just not going to happen.
UFC president Dana White has continuously shot down the idea of adding another division much less doing it on short notice for a fight that’s already been contracted at lightweight.
While Diaz and Poirier have both publicly called for their fight to get bumped to the UFC 230 main event on Nov. 3 with a 165-pound title on the line, White says that’s not going to happen and it’s never even been discussed with the fighters.
“It’s nutty as hell,” White told TMZ after initially seeing Diaz’s message on Twitter announcing he was competing for a new 165-pound title. “The guy signed a deal to fight at 155 pounds against Poirier — from the minute the deal was signed and he went out on stage, he’s just been, you know — it’s completely weird. That’s what it is.
“Not only will there not [be a 165-pound title], we did not ever discuss that with him, was never an option, never anything.”
While Diaz has continued to hint that without this mythical 165-pound title on the line that he’ll bow out of the fight with Poirier and just return next year instead, White is confident he will show up on Nov. 3 as scheduled.
Unfortunately a lot of damage has already been done as White says a ton of people are believing what Diaz is saying and asking him if the fight has been cancelled.
“The guy signed a deal, tickets went on sale, all this stuff is in motion — you can’t just sign a deal and then do the things he’s doing right now, and not fight,” White said about Diaz. “If you look at what he’s doing, I swear to God I had some police officers come in here this afternoon and say ‘Ah man, it sucks, the Diaz fight is off.’
“Most people think that the fight isn’t even on because of what he’s doing on social media.”
As far as White is concerned, Poirier vs. Diaz is moving ahead as scheduled on Nov. 3 at UFC 230 from Madison Square Garden in New York but they won’t be competing for any sort of title.
