MMA News & Notes: Dana White Pumped Up for Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz UFC 183 Showdown
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White believes that Nick Diaz doesn't enjoy fighting, but he expects an action-packed showdown between Diaz and "The Spider" Anderson Silva next year.
White said in an interview that he is pumped up for the upcoming Silva-Diaz showdown at UFC 183 on Jan. 31, which will be the return fight for both superstars.
Diaz will end his long layoff since losing to Georges St-Pierre in March 2013, while Silva will make his much awaited comeback from a gruesome leg injury he sustained during his UFC Middleweight championship rematch with Chris Weidman in December of last year.
"I'm pretty pumped for that fight," White said via UFC.com. "Anderson, I can't wait until he comes back. He's one of my favorite fighters, and you know Nick Diaz. That's the fight Nick wanted, that's the fight the fans wanted to see, so we did it."
Diaz, who signed a new three-fight deal in July, recently made a striking statement in a press conference, saying that he will return to the Octagon because of the need, not desire, to fight again.
"I don't recommend anybody be a fighter," Diaz said via MMA Junkie. "Fighting is not something that I enjoy doing, it's something that I do that I feel I have to do. That's just the way it is. There's a lot to it. I don't want to hurt anybody. I'm a non-violent person. I don't especially enjoy violence. I hate watching people get hurt."
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Reacting to Diaz's recent statement, White insisted that he is not bothered at all by the 31-year-old's comment, admitting that he is aware that Diaz doesn't enjoy fighting.
"He's Nick Diaz," White said. "There are a lot of things he says that make him Nick. I believe that he doesn't enjoy fighting. Everything that this guy says is why he is who he is -- the way that he fights, his demeanor -- it all makes him Nick Diaz. A lot of people don't like going to work but you gotta do what you gotta do. That's how he makes a living, and not everybody loves what they do."
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