Lyoto Machida vs. Nick Diaz off the table

BOSTON – A proposed fight between ex-light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida and former welterweight champ Nick Diaz isn’t happening, contrary to previous indications.

UFC President Dana White said circumstances in Diaz’s life will prevent it from happening at the moment.

What are those? Anyone’s guess, like most of the day-to-day details of the former Strikeforce champ’s existence.

“Diaz didn’t turn it down,” White said following UFC Fight Night 26 at Boston’s TD Garden. “There’s other things going on with Diaz. There’s other things going on with Diaz.”

White declined to go into details about why Diaz (26-9 MMA, 7-6 UFC) wasn’t able to fight Machida (19-4 MMA, 11-4 UFC), whom he offered as a potential opponent after a recent conversation.

The UFC president thought he would put the matchup together after UFC matchmaker Joe Silva recommended it. Diaz, who retired after an unsuccessful bid for the welterweight title at this past March’s UFC 158 event, had been talking about going to middleweight. Machida, who’s fought the bulk of his career at 205 pounds, was bound for the same destination.

But just because they had the same idea didn’t mean they belonged together.

“That was a bad idea, the Diaz-Machida thing was,” White said. “I’ll throw Joe Silva under the bus again. That was Joe Silva’s idea. It was a bad idea.”

Machida recently was linked to a fight with Vitor Belfort, but that too went by the wayside.

“I wanted Machida to fight Vitor Belfort, but Vitor Belfort is his own matchmaker, apparently,” White said. “He wants to make his own fights.”

Machida called out Chael Sonnen on Twitter after Sonnen’s submission of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the headliner of UFC Fight Night 26, but White said he would take a few days off before addressing Sonnen’s next move.

Diaz, it appears, is still retired.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Joe Rogan and Nick Diaz)