Nate Diaz is not guaranteed a trilogy fight with Conor McGregor, even if he defeats Anthony Pettis on Saturday.
Diaz makes a belated return to the UFC this weekend, three years after his defeat by McGregor in their rematch.
Five months earlier he had choked out the then featherweight champion in a shock second-round victory.
Victory for Diaz will catapult him back into the reckoning for a fight with McGregor who has not fought since his defeat by Khabib Nurmagomedov last October.
But UFC president Dana White wants to wait until Nurmagomedov defends his lightweight title against Dustin Poirier in September before making a decision.
When asked about the rubber match, he said: "I don’t know, that I don’t know. [We'll] see how Saturday goes, see how September goes, and then see what happens with Conor."
Diaz sparked controversy on Wednesday when he smoked a joint during his open workout.
He later clarified that it was a CBD product from his own brand of cannabis products and is perfectly legal.
White added: "Nate’s one of these guys that, he has this personality where it’s like he’s saying, 'F*** you' to The Man, but he never says, 'F*** you' to The Man.
"Every time I’m around Nate, he’s a good kid, and I've always had a good relationship with Nate, a personal relationship with Nate.
'He’s tough to deal with on the business side, but personally he’s a good guy. And whatever you want to say about the Diaz brothers, when they say they’re gonna fight, they sign the bout agreement, and they show up and they fight."
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