Nate Diaz returns to the octagon following a one-year hiatus from fighting Saturday night, but if the UFC lightweight and Ultimate Fighter 5 champion is to be believed, Diaz never wanted out of the spotlight to begin with.
Speaking with reporters in anticipation of his UFC on Fox 13 headlining fight versus Rafael dos Anjos, Diaz scoffed at the rumors that he had been willfully sitting out the past year as some sort of makeshift protest concerning his contract.
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"It's about time, I've been waiting all year to fight," Diaz said, per MMA Fighting. "I heard a lot of sh*t pushed around in the media that I was turning down fights. That was never the case. I was bashed in the media. [The UFC and I] never really had a conversation. Dana White called me personally and then we made a fight happen, but before it was all kind of hearsay, they were bashing me saying I'm turning down fights. That was never the case."
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Diaz saved the majority of his vitriol for former WWE wrestler CM Punk, who made headlines when he announced a move to UFC last week. Diaz called it "horrible for the sport" and "a big ole joke."
"We're pros," Diaz said defiantly. "I don't you should just let some millionaire WWE guy just come on over and play a little game...I'm over here busting my a** and fighting for ten years."
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