UFC
Dana White says Nate Diaz is not a needle mover, gets in minor Twitter spat with Diaz's manager
Jul 19, 2014 - 5:35:31 PM Dana White says Nate Diaz is not a needle mover, gets in minor Twitter spat with Diaz's manager

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

As Nate Diaz continues to hold out for talks with the UFC that aren't likely to come, it's led to further comment from UFC President Dana White.

In a pre-UFC Fight Night 46 media scrum on Friday, White discussed Diaz's status, and why they're in no rush to make any concessions for him.

"Nate Diaz is not a needle mover," White said (transcribed by MMAFighting.com). "I love Nate Diaz. Nate Diaz is actually one of my favorite kids. I always got along with Nate, Nate was always great. Lowest rated Fox show ever. Lowest rated Fox show ever. His numbers, he doesn't pull the numbers in. Nick [Diaz] is a needle mover. Nick moves the needle. [Nate] doesn't pull good numbers.

"Listen, if Nate Diaz was the guy, we'd work it out in a minute. If you move the needle, those are the guys that make the big money. You realize he's like 1-3 in his last three fights? He's 1-3, he's nowhere near a title fight, he's never won a title, and he doesn't move the needle."

"He seems like he's popular when you're looking on f***ing Twitter and some website. But the numbers, the real numbers, tell the truth. We know who moves needles and who doesn't move needles. If Nate Diaz was a massive needle mover, we'd have called him. He'd be on the phone, we'd be figuring it out and we'd work it out. He doesn't move the needle."

The numbers are a bit off for White here, as Diaz's headlining bout with Jim Miller was the third worst Fox draw, and his fight with Benson Henderson the third best. He also drew well over a million last fall in his fight with Gray Maynard.

Regardless, White believes Diaz's discontent was sowed when his teammate Gilbert Melendez was re-signed earlier this year, but argues that they're at two very different spots in their respective careers.

"This isn't a 'sort things out' thing. You're under contract. You just signed this contract," White said. "Who is happy? Who's really, at the end of the day [who is happy]? When we signed Melendez is when he got unhappy. When his partner got his contract, he became unhappy.

"I know he trains with Melendez. But Melendez is one of the top guys in the world. He's the No. 1 ranked guy in the world, next in line for a title shot, he's a former world champion. Nate has absolutely nothing like that on his resume, and he's 1-3 in his last few fights."

Following White's comments on Friday afternoon, Diaz's manager Mike Kogan tossed out a comment on Twitter, which led to a quick shutdown by White.

@MikeKogan hey Kogan u scumbag POS if Nate didn't listen to ur dumb ass he wouldn't be in this position. Quit fuckin up kids careers dirtbag

— Dana White (@danawhite) July 18, 2014

Penick's Analysis: There are parts of this argument that work in White's favor, parts of it that don't and take away from the point. Diaz draws better numbers than some, but White's right that he's not one of their top draws. Diaz is actually 1-2 in his last three fights, but again, that's on the deal that he signed three fights ago. He's just not in a position to renegotiate anything, no matter how much he wants to do so. Because of that, the UFC will keep offering him fights knowing full well he'll turn them down, so they can then in turn extend his contract out further. Diaz, as a fighter who has lost a title fight and isn't necessarily in the mix, is someone they can keep on the sidelines without it really hurting them much. It's false to say he doesn't "move the needle" at all, as he does better than a number of other headliners they've got on the roster, but it's certainly not a situation where he's this overwhelming fan favorite whom they need fighting as often as possible. Because of that, Diaz will continue to be on the sidelines until he breaks and comes back for a fight.