After a reported comeback late last year, Nick Diaz has retired, according to his longtime friend and teammate, Gilbert Melendez.

“I would love to see him come back, but last time I checked, he’s retired,” ex-Strikeforce champ Melendez said Wednesday on Chael Sonnen’s “You’re Welcome” podcast.

As for Nick’s younger brother, Nate Diaz, Melendez said the two-time Conor McGregor opponent is living the high life in California.

“He’s training hard,” said Melendez, who was part of the famed “Skrap Pack” of Northern California fighters that included the Diaz brothers. “His brand is huge. He’s so dang famous; the guy’s an A-lister now. Everyone knows him where I go.

“He’s big in the cannabis game out there and hanging out with celebrities, doing appearances. Being a real businessman out there. He has his specialties, and he’s doing good. He’s training all the time, living a good lifestyle.”

Melendez doesn’t rule out a Nick Diaz comeback under the right circumstances. For the right fight and the right contract, Melendez said, the elder Diaz (26-9 MMA, 7-6 UFC) might be enticed to return. But at the moment, the incentives aren’t there.

“If anyone could come back and do it, and stay on track and everything, it’s him,” Melendez said.

Diaz reportedly agreed to fight Jorge Masvidal (32-13 MMA, 9-6 UFC) next month at UFC 235 before backing out, claiming he never agreed to the bout and calling the promotion “rude” for trying to “lowball” him. Although he said he was training for a fight, Diaz balked at the options in the welterweight division and said “there aren’t any fights for me until someone stands out.”

At a press conference for UFC 231, UFC President Dana White, who’s repeatedly cast doubt on a Diaz comeback, confirmed the matchup with Masvidal. Just a few weeks later, though, White said it was off, noting “all you’ve got to do is look at his Instagram. I don’t think it looks like he’s training for a fight.”

Later, Diaz dissed the UFC on social media and said “it’s all about Bellator now at least they pay me.”

The falling out came four months after Diaz’s life appeared to be on the upswing. State prosecutors dropped domestic violence charges against him in Nevada after determining a report of an alleged attack this past May wasn’t credible. Bodycam video supported the investigation, which showed Diaz wasn’t hostile to police officers during his arrest.

Melendez said there aren’t any regulatory roadblocks to a return for Diaz; the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency cleared Diaz after he served a one-year suspension for a whereabouts failure.

“I don’t think there’s anything holding him back, except just his decision whether he wants to come back or not,” Melendez said. “He’s in shape. He’s in dang shape. … I think he’s always running and staying ready. He’s a ninja. He’s always ready.”

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