Nate Diaz claims he came close to attacking his boss - UFC president Dana White - at a nightclub over a pay dispute in 2014.
The legendary former lightweight title challenger will leave the promotion after 15 years under their banner after he fights Khamzat Chimaev on Saturday night at UFC 279. After a rocky few years with the UFC where they failed to capitalise on his star-making win over Conor McGregor in 2016, Diaz will pursue other opportunities after a bitter break-up.
He has always had an up-and-down relationship with the promotion's boss White, who he once claims was minutes away from being "beat up" in a Las Vegas nightclub. Diaz was in town during season 20 of The Ultimate Fighter, where he was a coach on teammate Gilbert Melendez's team alongside fellow pal Jake Shields.
And of the alleged incident, Diaz told ESPN : “I almost beat up Dana White in a club one time here too, you should’ve seen it. He was talking s*** - you should ask him. He was talking s*** and I was arguing with him. I was mad at him, I shouldn’t have been mad at him, I understand.
“It was a long time ago when Gilbert [Melendez] did The Ultimate Fighter with Pettis. I think when the girls had all gotten off the show, Rose [Namajunas] had won the thing and then we went to the club with Dana and them. We were having a big afterparty, and then Dana’s all 'what’s up?’
“I was like, what’s up? And he’s telling me about, ‘What do you want?’ I was like, ‘What the fuck do you think I want? More money and more fucking better fights than everyone here.’ It’s because I was never on the destination for a title though, at the time, I understand he had his little mission."
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White responded by insisting the incident was due to them "allegedly drinking" before quickly moving on and asking for another question when asked at a press conference on Tuesday night. Diaz had already fought Benson Henderson for the belt at that point and been knocked out by Josh Thomson. But he believed that his longevity had earned him certain privileges given the usual length of a fighter's stay in the promotion is generally quite short.
"What the hell does he think kept me here so long?" Diaz added. "People go up and they try to fight for the title, they fight for the title and they either win it or lose. Say they win three or four fights they think they're the best thing ever, they lose they try to make comebacks and it's lose one, win one, lose one and then they're gone.
"Everybody's got a five-year career in the UFC. Seven, eight or nine max but it's like my career was based on going in there, not being a b****, whipping the most a** you could whip the hardest you can do it, the tightest you can do it and then carry on with your day and come back for another one later."
