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Nate Diaz explains his logic behind choosing opponents.
Since his notable fights against Conor McGregor in 2016, Nate Diaz has been gunning for marquee names, exclusively. But at the same time, he isn’t too keen on facing the champions at both lightweight and welterweight, the two weight classes he jumps around from.
During an exclusive interview with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, the 34-year-old Diaz brother explained why he isn’t interested in a fight with either Khabib Nurmagomedov or Kamaru Usman, and why he agreed to face Anthony Pettis, instead.
“I feel like I’m just better and cooler than those guys,” Diaz said of the two champions. “The hell do I want to fight them for? Pettis is cooler than both of them, fightwise.
“Remember Street Fighter? I want to see that motherf—r versus that guy. Or just at school when you knew two dudes who kicked ass. And you were like ‘I wonder what would happen if them fools fought?’”
Diaz was also impressed with Jorge Masvidal’s win over Ben Askren at UFC 239 last month, making him interested in a possible matchup in the future.
“Masvidal just did his thing the other day. That was great,” he said. “Stuff like that, with all due respect, motivates you to fight that person because they’ve done some great sh-t. Stick that in my bag of great sh-t.
“The guy that’s kicking everybody’s ass, that’s what you’re fighting for in the first place, right? Fight the best fighters, the coolest fighters. That’s the sport I signed up for when I signed up.”
Diaz will break his three-year absence this Saturday, August 17th, when he co-headlines UFC 241 against Anthony Pettis. The event will take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, headlined by a heavyweight title fight between Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic.