N. Diaz (photo) says he doesn't want another fight against C. McGregor. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook NateDiaz
As many imagined, the return of Nate diaz the UFC has been giving something to talk about. The American, who has never spoken out this time, stated that he does not want to have a third fight with McGregor because the Irishman is coming off a defeat in his career. The information was recently given to the program 'Ariel Helwani's MMA Show'. Diaz returns to Ultimate on August 17th, after almost three years without performing professionally.
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“I’m not interested at all (in a fight against Conor). I'm interested in winners. He lost his last fight. Do you think I'm interested in fighting someone who just got beaten up? I'm a jiu-jitsu black belt. That would never happen to me”, reported Nate, commenting on the submission suffered by the Irishman applied by Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The world of MMA, for a while, was agitated just by the thought of a third clash between the two athletes.
The first time they faced each other, in March 2016, Nate parachuted into the event to replace the Brazilian Rafael dos Anjos, who was scheduled to face Conor at UFC 196, but ended up getting injured. With little time to prepare, Diaz simply shocked the world and managed to achieve a historic victory against the Irishman, in a submission in the second round, driving the audience crazy. The duel was held in the welterweight category (up to 77kg) and was not worth the lightweight belt (up to 70,3kg), which, at the time, belonged to 'Notorious'.
With the defeat of its biggest name, the Ultimate management acted quickly, and, upon realizing the proportion that the confrontation between the athletes had taken, scheduled a rematch five months after the first meeting. Even without a title being awarded, the public wanted to see the result of yet another battle between the controversial athletes.
In the last fight, McGregor won by majority decision of the judges. Nate, however, continues to oppose the decision and claims that he defeated the former lightweight champion again. This is one of the reasons why Diaz rejects the idea of another battle.
“Three years went by and they thought I was going to start begging for a fight against Conor as soon as he was defeated? No, man. I won the last fight,” said Nate. “I wanted to face Khabib, but he said I would have to beat someone to get to him. I said, 'What are you talking about? You’re the one who has to win to get to me”, concluded Diaz.
After many statements from the company's president, Dana White, saying that he found it extremely difficult to see Nate perform for Ultimate, the North American impressed again and returned to be part of the organization's card. The athlete returns to the Octagon at UFC 241, on August 17, to face Anthony Pettis.
At 34 years old, Diaz has 30 fights in his career, with 19 wins and 11 losses.
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