After years and years of toiling away in the UFC, Nate Diaz finally got his big payday stepping into a last minute replacement fight against Conor McGregor. One rear naked choke later, and he got an even bigger payday for a rematch later that year.
Things didn’t go his way that time, with McGregor edging him on the judges’ scorecards. But that doesn’t mean Nate is waiting around for the rubber match with baited breath. In fact, in a new interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, he said he had no interest in fighting the Irishman again.
”No, I’m not interested in it at all,” he said. “I’m interested in winners. He lost his last fight, and I won my last fight. You think I’m trying to fight someone who just got his ass beat all over the place? I’m a black belt in jiu-jitsu, that s**t wouldn’t happen to me. Real jiu-jitsu, Gracie jiu-jitsu.”
Nate’s general dissatisfaction with the UFC had a big part to do in how the UFC treated McGregor after their two record breaking pay-per-views versus how they treated him.
”Conor’s ass was really disappointing to me,” Diaz said. “Because what happened was, like I said, I didn’t lose that fight. And then they gave him the easy Eddie Alvarez fight, and then he won the title. So I beat him after he won the 145 title and before he won the 155 title, and then he fought Floyd Mayweather. And they’re just dissing me saying I’m turning down fights.”
”I’m like dude, what are you talking about? You’re giving this guy the world, and you’re putting me down. That’s why I haven’t been fighting. Why am I gonna work for you if you guys are over here playing me? So three years went by and they start expecting I’m gonna start screaming for Conor as soon as he loses? Nah, dude, I won that last fight. I’ll fight Khabib. Then Khabib is playing like I have to win something to get to him. I’m like what are you talking about, dude? You got to win to get to me. I slapped you.”
”So that’s my thoughts on that, that’s how I feel,” he finished. “I don’t care what people think … If someone slaps me, that’s gonna be my first kill. That’s the person I’m coming for and nobody else.”
Unfortunately for Khabib, Nate is also done cutting down to 155. So if the current lightweight champion wants to take on the King of the Lightweights, it’ll have to be at 170. And after Nate faces off against Anthony Pettis at UFC 241 on August 17th.