Nate Diaz skips media day ahead of UFC 241 fight against Anthony Pettis

Nate Diaz has left the building.

The outspoken Stockton, Calif. native opted to skip out on the planned media day for UFC 241 on Thursday after answering all the questions he wanted to address at the open workouts 24 hours earlier.

UFC officials confirmed Diaz was going to miss out on the media day interviews as well as a scheduled face off with opponent Anthony Pettis. UFC president Dana White was aware that Diaz planned to skip media day and gave him the go ahead to forgo another series of interviews ahead of his fight on Saturday night.

Diaz made a memorable showing at the UFC 241 open workouts where he lit up a blunt as he started getting warmed up. Diaz later said the joint contained CBD, a substance made from marijuana but with minimal THC (the psychoactive drug in marijuana) and it’s not banned for usage by athletes under the UFC’s anti-doping program.

Fighters are typically required to attend all public relation functions scheduled by the UFC during fight week but exceptions have been made in the past.

Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey famously avoided any media obligations ahead of her fight against Amanda Nunes in 2016. At the time, White said he gave Rousey permission to skip out on fight week activities, although he admitted it wasn’t an ideal situation.

As for Diaz, he will be making his first appearance in the UFC since 2016 when he lost a razor-close majority decision to Conor McGregor.

Diaz will be fighting at welterweight for the third consecutive fight as he looks to hand Pettis a loss after he made a successful debut at 170 pounds with a stunning knockout against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson earlier this year.