"It's sad" - Dana White on Nate Diaz likely parting ways with the UFC after Khamzat Chimaev fight

Dana White recently weighed in on Nate Diaz potentially leaving the UFC after his upcoming fight against Khamzat Chimaev. White noted that retirement has always been a sad aspect of the sport, mentioning recently retired fighters Jessica Eye and Donald Cerrone.

However, the UFC president claims to be focused on ensuring that fighters hang up their gloves before it's too late. Asked about Diaz potentially parting ways with the UFC, the 52-year-old said during the Dana White's Contender Series (DWCS) 47 post-event news conference:

"I mean it's always sad. You know, Jessica Eye just laid her gloves down. 'Cowboy' just laid his gloves down... You know, it's one of those things in pro sports that sucks. It eventually comes to an end and my big thing is all about getting people out at the right time. I like when we see people go at the right time but yes, at the same time it's sad."

Watch White's appearance at the presser below:

White also explained that booking a fight for Nate Diaz is not as easy as it appears to be. Additionally, the 52-year-old reaffirmed that the Stockton native had been asking for a bout against 'Borz'.

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Khamzat Chimaev is seemingly not adhering to a strict gameplan going into his bout against Nate Diaz

Nate Diaz is slated to meet Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279 in September, which will also be the last fight on the Stockton native's UFC contract. Diaz has long rallied to get this fight booked, seemingly keen to exhaust his contract.

However, the matchup has been questioned by fans and pundits alike owing to the stark contrast between Diaz and Chimaev's recent career trajectory.

Riding a five-fight unbeaten streak, the confident Chimaev is unsure if Diaz will even show up for the bout. The Chechen-born Swede also claims that he is not following a strict gameplan for his bout against the beloved welterweight.

According to 'Borz', he listens to his coach's instructions during sparring, which equips him to instantly deal with the challenges presented during a real fight. The 28-year-old said during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour:

"I never talk about what I’m going to do in the fight. I just train what my coach said in my training. When we spar, if he says, ‘take him down,’ I take him down, if he says, ‘jab, move,’ I do these things – I listen to him. Then I go to the fight and I do exactly exactly the same I did in the sparring, and sometimes it’s 'take him down, submit him.' Then I understand I have to do it in the cage as well when I come to the fight. This is my game plan, but you don’t see me, like, ‘Oh, he does this, he does that, he jabs like this, and this s***.’ I don’t believe in game plan or this s***. You fight like you fight.”

Watch Chimaev's appearance on The MMA Hour below: