Dana White says Nate Diaz’s ‘nutty’ 165 lb title fight at UFC 230 was ‘never an option’

The UFC president has found himself fielding questions about an upcoming title fight that was never on offer in a division that doesn’t even exist.

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File it in the folder marked ‘unsurprising’: Dana White is frustrated with Nate Diaz. The UFC president dropped in to the TMZ Sports desk for a quick video interview recently, where he talked about the upcoming UFC 230 fight card that the promotion has planned for Madison Square Garden in November.

The event is still without a designated headlining bout, but there’s one title fight planned that’s had everyone talking. Only, the UFC didn’t plan it.

Diaz and Poirier have been making waves on Twitter with Diaz’s announcement that the two would be fighting for a new 165 lb title in New York. Poirier was quick to sign on to the idea, and that’s left White pulling double duty of trying to promote the fight card, while also denying that anything like what the two lightweights are talking about is in the works (transcript via MMA Mania).

“I definitely saw that,” White said of Diaz’s ‘news’ in an interview with TMZ. “It’s nutty as hell. The guy signed a deal to fight at 155 pounds against Poirier. From the minute the deal was signed and he went out on stage, he’s just been… It’s completely weird. That’s what it is.”

“Not only will there not,” White added, speaking of creating the new division, “we did not ever discuss that with him. Was never an option, or anything.”

He also added that, due to Nate’s antics in the time since his fight with Poirier was first announced, he’s getting a lot of reactions from fans who think the fight has been cancelled altogether.

“…I swear to God I had some police officers come in here this afternoon and say, ‘Ah man, it sucks, the Diaz fight is off,’” White explained. “Most people think that the fight isn’t even on because of what he’s doing on social media.”

Diaz vs. Poirier is likely scheduled as part of the main card of the UFC 230 PPV on November 3rd. The event is also set to feature middleweight bouts between Jacare Souza & David Branch, Derek Brunson & Israel Adesanya, and Luke Rockhold & Chris Weidman. With barely more than a month to go, a main event has yet to be finalized.