Nate Diaz the needle mover: Dana White changes tune after star's triumphant UFC 241 return

Nate Diaz owned the crowd at UFC 241 and afterward had Dana White comparing his star status to Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – UFC president Dana White has changed his tune on Nate Diaz.

Five years after White famously said Diaz “doesn’t move the needle” in terms of his drawing power, he admits the UFC 241 co-headliner is a star on the order of Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor.

“Yeah, it’s pretty tough to deny,” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie, following Diaz’s win over Anthony Pettis on Saturday night. “He’s a needle mover now.”

From the second Diaz walked into the Honda Center, his popularity was clear. The crowd cheered loudly and long for the 34-year-old fighter, who hadn’t competed since a 2016 rematch loss to McGregor.

Even before that, an ESPN interview featuring Diaz generated over 250,000 views in a few hours, according to the New York Times, which declared the fighter an antihero the promotion needs.

White agreed with that and said UFC 241 is trending to be one of the most successful pay-per-view events since the promotion put its premium product behind the ESPN paywall. Diaz is one person to thank for that.

The best thanks, Diaz said later at the UFC 241 news conference, would be a nice big paycheck.

“He knew then, too,” Diaz said of White’s infamous diss. “But that’s not a good business move to tell me I’m the (expletive), because then I’m going to be like, ‘Give me the (expletive) money. Give me some ‘I’m the (expletive) money.’ You feel me?

“He had to do what he had to do, so I ain’t mad at him later for that. But it’s cool that he’s acknowledging the fact.”

Now that everyone is clear on Diaz’s status, he’s more than happy to get back to work on a regular basis. A fight with Jorge Masvidal appears to be on the table after his respectful callout. But he indicated he’s only willing to keep going with the proper recognition of his abilities.

“If everything works out right how it’s supposed to work out, I’ll fight next month,” Diaz said. “If nobody wants to get this done how it’s supposed to be done and do it right, and treat it like it should be treated, I ain’t even going to be in no rush.

“It’s not going me who’s going to be doing the sitting out. It’s something that’s going to be holding me out, or people not jumping on there trying to get it done. And that’s where I’ve been for the last three years, because I never stopped training camp. Nobody was showing acknowledgement for being the best fighter in the world, which I am, just like (Jorge) Masvidal.”