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Ariel Helwani recently expressed his frustration over the UFC's treatment of Nate Diaz.
Diaz, of course, has been publicly asking for his release from the company in the past few months. The Stockton native has only one fight left before his current contract expires, but the UFC hasn't made moves to book him for a fight yet.
According to Helwani, the UFC is deliberately "icing" Diaz so he can fight Conor McGregor, who is expected to return sometime around the autumn. Helwani, on the latest episode of The MMA Hour, went on a scathing rant over the issue:
"What is being done right now is a travesty. This guy is in his prime. He's at the end of his run with the UFC. They are icing him because they want him to fight Conor McGregor, as plain as possible. That's what's happening and if you don't want to accept that, I'm sorry. But that's what's happening. He's being iced."
The longtime MMA reporter added that there are plenty of options for Diaz aside from McGregor. Helwani continued:
"Get this guy a fight! And there are other fights out there. Give him [Dustin] Poirier. Hell, revisit the Khamzat [Chimaev] fight, I bet he would take it at this point. Do anything. Can we just stop with the tweets and stop with the drama. At this point, I just wanna see this guy fight, move on and see where we're at. So frustrating!"
Watch Ariel Helwani's comments below:
Nate Diaz uninterested in fighting Conor McGregor
It appears that Nate Diaz is willing to fight anyone the UFC offers him at this point. However, there is one person the octagon bad-boy isn't willing to fight.
On Monday, Diaz practically begged the UFC for a fight, but made it clear that he won't be fighting Conor McGregor for the third time. Diaz offered no explanation other than saying that his rival "sucks".
Check out the tweet below:
McGregor and Diaz have crossed paths twice before. Diaz secured the victory in the first bout at UFC 196 in 2016 via second-round submission, while McGregor secured the majority decision in their rematch at UFC 202.
