Dana White's comments leave door open to Nate Diaz's UFC return

UFC president Dana White has left the door open for a Nate Diaz return.

The Stockton fan favourite officially became a free agent on Saturday after submitting Tony Ferguson in the last fight of his existing deal.

Diaz, 37, hasn’t always seen eye to eye with White, 53, with the pair sharing an uneasy relationship at times over the years.

But the two parties seem to be on good terms, with White leaving the door for a potential return in the future despite a move to boxing believed to be imminent.

“No matter what Nate does from here on out, this is his house,” White said at his post-fight press conference.

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“He’s been here forever. It’s been a blast having him here. I wish him well.

“He and I had this discussion months ago at the offices. Whatever he moves on to do, I wish him nothing but the best. If he’s starting his own organization or getting into promoting or doing something else, I wish him nothing but the best of luck.

“It’s been awesome having him here.”

In his post-fight interview, Diaz confirmed he wants to have a go at boxing with reports linking him to an appearance against Jake Paul.

He said: “It’s been a love-hate relationship but at the end of the day I love the UFC.

“Shoutout to Dana White, Lorenzo Fertita and Hunter Campbell for giving the opportunities and the platform the whole time for everybody and for myself.

“I feel like I’ve had the longest career in the UFC and I’ve had the most successful one out of everybody. I outdid everybody on pay. I outdid everybody on surviving.

“I want to get out of the UFC for a minute and show all these UFC fighters how to take over and own up another sport how you’re