Once Nate Diaz closes the book on his professional boxing debut against Jake Paul on Saturday night, the Stockton Samurai is determined to make a return to the Octagon.
Nate Diaz exited the promotion in September following a fourth-round submission win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 279. Nearly a year later, Diaz will step into the squared circle for a showdown with ‘The Problem Child’ inside Dallas’ American Airlines Center. As for what will come following his scrap with Jake Paul, the TUF alumnus seems hell-bent on re-signing with the UFC to take care of some lingering business with Irish megastar Conor McGregor.
Diaz and McGregor went toe-to-toe on two separate occasions in 2016, with Diaz handing the Irishman his first loss inside the Octagon at UFC 196. Five months later, McGregor struck back, scoring a majority decision to even the series at 1-1. Seven years later, fans are still clamoring for the trilogy bout and both men seem intent on making it happen.
But to make that happen, Conor McGregor will finally have to bite the bullet and re-enter the USADA testing pool.
McGregor was originally scheduled to return in late 2023 for a showdown with former Bellator MMA champion Michael Chandler. Unfortunately, the Irishman has failed to make himself available for USADA testing, making his return before the end of the year unlikely.
Nate Diaz Hopes to See Conor McGregor Get Back in the Octagon and ‘Handle Some Sh*t’ Soon.
During a recent interview with Full Send, Nate Diaz spoke about McGregor’s status and admitted that he’s excited to see the former champ-champ get back into the Octagon.
“I’m ready to see him get back and do something cool too,” Diaz said. “I don’t know if that [Chandler] fight’s gonna happen, I don’t know…He’s not gonna fight, or is he? Maybe, and then they let him do sh*t whenever he wants. So it’d be cool if he got back in there though and handled some sh*t, that’d be tight. No one else – not a lot of people are doing much in there, so it’s cool when people do better sh*t, different sh*t” (h/t MMA News).
Despite the fact that he has not yet taken the necessary steps to return to the Octagon, Conor McGregor has remained active on social media, calling out every fighter who gains a little bit more clout for themselves. The most recent example came following Justin Gaethje’s incredible second-round head kick KO against Dustin Poirier at UFC 291. Before Gaethje could even strap the BMF title around his waist, McGregor’s thumbs were already hard at work, calling out the newly crowned baddest motherf*cker in mixed martial arts.
For the moment, Conor McGregor seems more interested in drinking, traveling, and trash-talking the men and women who actually step inside the Octagon, but a potential trilogy bout with Nate Diaz could very well be the one fight that truly gets the Irishman back inside the cage.