MMA News: UFC Boss Responds To Nate Diaz's 'Hostage' Comment

UFC president Dana White has responded to the allegations of Nate Diaz regarding the final fight stipulated in his contract, claiming that the mixed martial artist is painting a false narrative about his situation.

The 37-year-old UFC star shared his frustrations with the promotion during a recent interview on “The MMA Hour.” Diaz claimed he's being held “hostage” by the UFC as he sits on the final fight of his deal.

“I was trying to get the show on the road, and they don’t want me out of the contract, and they’re keeping me in, and they’re holding me hostage, and I want out,” Diaz stated. “That’s my main objective here, and it’s been an objective of mine since, I don’t know, what year it was? But the year I fought Ben Henderson (2012).”

Diaz added that this was hindering him from trying the free agent market.

However, White downplayed his allegations and claimed that he has been working on getting Diaz a fight but there have been factors preventing it.

“We can’t hold guys hostage,” White said during the UFC on ABC 3 post-fight press conference. “It’s not possible. I owe you three fights a year. If I don’t fight you three times a year, I have to pay you. How can I hold him hostage?”

White also explained that getting a deal done has been tough. Francis Ngannou and Israel Adesanya were two names Diaz claimed to match his star power. However, White said he believes that these were unrealistic.

“It’s like, come on. Nate Diaz vs. Francis Ngannou? What should I say? Just f--king stand there like, ‘Holy s--t. This is crazy,'” White stated.

Diaz responded to White’s comments via Twitter, asking why the UFC top brass was confused. The 37-year-old claimed that he did not get any fight offer in the last nine months and that he asked for “five legitimate opponents.”

The mixed martial artist ended his tweet by saying: “Thanks u (sic) for the kind words, can I go now?”