Dana White revealed he hopes that Nate Diaz will return to UFC action this year, although the president of the company isn't too optimistic by the sounds of it.
Diaz returned to action in August 2019 at UFC 241 to take on Anthony Pettis, the win over 'Showtime' was his first fight in three years, since his loss to Conor McGregor.
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The Stockton Slugger then fought Jorge Masvidal for the BMF title that December and lost, with the referee rather ironically stopping the fight after three rounds due to Diaz's cut.
Masvidal initially said he'd give his opponent a rematch but that never happened and Diaz hasn't been back in the octagon since.
At the end of last year there was talk of him returning and, speaking to ESPN, UFC president White said he hoped that would be the case in 2021.
"I hope (he fights this year)," White said during a Q&A, "I hope so. I'd like to see him fight. I'm not counting on it, but I'd like to see him fight."
If Diaz does return then it looks unlikely that the 35-year-old will face his old rival McGregor for a third time.
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The pair met in March 2016 for the first time, when Diaz was a late replacement after an injury for Rafael dos Anjos, and the American forced the Irishman to tap out for his first UFC defeat.
They met again that August in an instant classic, as the Notorious got revenge on his previous defeat. A trilogy fight has made sense at some point ever since. However when asked about that fight happening in the next 12 months, White said, "Probably not."
Like McGregor, Diaz has been involved in the recent nonsense with Jake Paul, with the Californian hitting out at the YouTube star.
Nate isn't the only Diaz who could make a return to the octagon at some point. Older brother Nick hasn't been in action since January 2015, when he fought a no contest with Anderson Silva at UFC 183.
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The former Strikeforce welterweight champ has threatened his own comeback in recent months but White doesn't think that'll happen either.
"Everything that I see from Nick Diaz doesn't look like Nick Diaz wants to or is ready to compete in this sport," the UFC boss said in an interview with The Schmo.
"Nick Diaz has been in a lot of wars. He's accomplished a lot of great things in his career. He's made a lot of money.
"He's obviously super-famous. He's gotten everything you could hope to get out of fighting. I just don't know why, when I see his Instagram, why he would want to come back."
Will 2021 be the year of either Diaz?
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