Nate Diaz says he was amused by the UFC’s offer to fight Alvarez earlier this year.
UFC fan favorite Nate Diaz just doesn’t ‘give a f—ck’.
The Stockton local blasted the UFC in a series of interviews, turning his nose up at an opportunity to fight Tony Ferguson for the interim ‘fake’ lightweight title and slamming the promotion for not making him one of the UFC’s flagship stars.
But Diaz didn’t stop there. The former lightweight title challenger ripped the UFC for offering him a fight against former 155-pound champion Eddie Alvarez, claiming that he has no interest in fighting the man that just got ‘melted’ by Conor McGregor at UFC 205.
Diaz did have an altercation with Alvarez in 2015 in Mexico City, but says the thought of fighting him in 2017 is laughable.
“They texted me about the Eddie Alvarez fight,” Diaz to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, per MMA Fighting’s Marc Raimondi. “And I’m just like pshht. Eddie Alvarez had his chance. Remember when I seen him in Mexico and I called him out? I was like I want to fight him the next day.”
“I just laughed,” Diaz said. “‘Do you want the Eddie Alvarez fight?’ How dare you. He just got melted by the guy I just beat up. He just got plumbed by Conor and I just beat Conor’s ass. I just laughed at them, like ‘Get the f-ck out of here, call me with some real sh-t.’”
The Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu black belt says Alvarez had his chance at UFC 188 in Mexico City, claiming that a real fighter would have been willing to throw down in the heat of the moment. Alvarez, though, was busy preparing for Diaz’ teammate Gilbert Melendez, who he beat via split decision on the main card.
“You had your chance,” Diaz said of Alvarez. “That’s not a fighter. You’re not a fighter. … You didn’t want the fight. You had your chance.”
Alvarez, 33, overwhelmed and battered Rafael dos Anjos to win the lightweight strap last year but lost the belt in his first title defense against McGregor. The former two-time Bellator 155-pound champion is scheduled to take on Dustin Poirier this Saturday at UFC 211.
Diaz, 32, is the only fighter to beat McGregor in the UFC, finishing the Irishman with a rear-naked choke at UFC 196 but losing via majority decision in the blockbuster rematch at UFC 202. The Californian hasn’t fought since the welterweight rematch and seems happy to sit on the sidelines until the UFC offers him a worthy opponent.