Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz trilogy bout | UFC Betting Sites

Nate Diaz has made it clear that he’s only interested in fighting again if the UFC offers him a trilogy bout with reigning lightweight champion Conor McGregor. In fact, Diaz recently said that he won’t even answer a phone call unless the UFC is looking to pay him $20 million to fight.

Diaz and McGregor first fought at UFC 196 where Diaz submitted the Irishman in the second round. The rematch then took place at UFC 202 where McGregor scored a majority decision victory.

While both UFC 196 and UFC 202 sold very well, much of that financial success was due to McGregor, as the “Notorious” one is the biggest pay-per-view (PPV) draw in the sport. Because of that, UFC commentator Joe Rogan recently said that it’s ‘hard to justify’ paying any fighter $20 million other than the Irishman:

“Let’s break this down,” Rogan said on an edition of his podcast. “Let’s say they do a million pay-per-view buys, which is top end. Only a few people have ever sold a million pay-per-view buys like Brock (Lesnar), Ronda (Rousey), Conor (McGregor) … that’s it. A million’s top of the food chain So a million pay-per-view view buys at 60 bucks, you’re taking one third off the bat for Nate. It’s really hard to justify someone [earning] $20 million for a fight. It’s going to be really hard. Conor’s like one of the only guys that can get that kind of money.”

Continuing on, Rogan implied that Diaz simply isn’t that big of a star without McGregor standing across from him:

“Here’s the thing, if Nate had a legit fight with someone other than Conor that was exciting. The problem is there’s no one else in the division that’s got that kind of marquee value. I think Nate is a fucking huge dog, especially now. After he beat Conor he was one of the biggest stars outside of that upper echelon pay-per-view level, but he’s not a world title holder right now.”

What do you make of Rogan’s comments?

The post Joe Rogan: It’s Hard To Justify Nate Diaz Making $20 Million appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

After he gained revenge on bitter rival Nate Diaz in their rematch at UFC 202 on August 20, 2016, featherweight champion Conor McGregor said the two would likely fight for a third time down the road.

But UFC President Dana White said that he was moving away from the rivalry for the time being, and it appears he’s sticking to it, at least for now. Recently speaking on the topic, White once again showed little interest in a third bout between the two stars:

“You can’t do three,” White told Hot 97 in New York. “Here’s the thing, Conor McGregor is this guy where if a fight falls out, this guy will step up. He doesn’t give a (expletive). He’s legitimately that guy. I’ve been on the phone and I’ve stood in the living room many times and looked guys in the face when their opponent pulls out, nobody faces that adversity the way that Conor McGregor does.

“It’s awesome and it makes me respect him very much.”

The two first met at UFC 196 last March in an instant classic that saw Diaz score an emphatic second-round submission victory. The rematch then turned out to be a five-round war in which each fighter had his moments. The “Notorious” one, however, took home a close majority decision victory.

From a business perspective, the rivalry is a lucrative one to say the least, as UFC 202 reportedly broke the all-time pay-per-view (PPV) record that was set by UFC 196. White, however, says a third contest ‘doesn’t make sense’:

“(Conor) ends up saying ‘let’s do this Nate Diaz thing’ and dude he’s two weight classes heavier than you and he doesn’t care. So we do the fight,” White explained. “Conor has to try to weigh 168 when they’re weighing in at 170. The night of the fight, Diaz comes in at 190. Now Conor McGregor is a 45, 55 pound guy and if you look at the wars he’s had with Diaz, you can only have so many of those wars in your career. It doesn’t make sense.

“That’s why we have weight classes. It ended up being an amazing fight, but you don’t want to keep doing that.”

Instead, McGregor will next challenge lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez in the main event of November 12’s UFC 205 from New York. Despite this being a blockbuster fight, the UFC has received a bit of criticism for allowing McGregor to call his shots so to say, as the Irishman has yet to defend his featherweight strap that he won last December.
Continuing on, White explained why McGregor gets this ‘special’ treatment:

“That’s why I give this guy way more rope than I give anybody else. Conor can say whatever the hell he wants to, the guy steps up on four days notice, he can say whatever he wants,” White said.

“We’re in the fight game, who really wants to fight? That dude wants to fight.”

Do you approve of McGregor facing Alvarez, and would you like to see him and Diaz run it back one more time in the future?

The post Dana White ‘Won’t Do Three’ With McGregor-Diaz appeared first on LowKick MMA.