While claiming the UFC has no interest in booking a long-anticipated grudge match between himself and promotional alum, Nate…
While claiming the UFC has no interest in booking a long-anticipated grudge match between himself and promotional alum, Nate Diaz, former interim champion, Dustin Poirier has now expressed an interest in fighting the Stockton native inside the squared circle.
Poirier, a former interim lightweight champion, has ended speculation over his immediate fighting future off the back of his most recent walk – confirming plans for at least one final venture to the Octagon.
Sidelined since he headlined UFC 302 back in May, former interim gold holder, Dustin Poirier dropped a stunning fifth round D’Arce choke submission defeat against current pound-for-pound number one, Islam Makhachev – showing an impressive performance against the dominant Russian champion.
As for Diaz, the former UFC lightweight title chaser made his sophomore outing in professional boxing earlier this year, landing a decision win over two-time foe, Jorge Masvidal – a long-time training partner of Poirier at their base at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida.
Dustin Poirier welcomes boxing fight with Nate Diaz
And weighing up his future in combat sports, Poirier, who claimed earlier this summer how Diaz was not an interesting opponent for him in the UFC according to promotional officials, welcomed the chance to fight him in a boxing match.
“I would love to [box],” Dustin Poirier told MMA Fighting during a recent interview. “That would be fun and exciting. … Just a change of speeds, different training camp, just something different. I’ve been doing MMA a while. I still love the training camps and love fighting, but to go to purely boxing, the whole training camp would be a lot less wearing on my body. No wrestling, no jiu-jitsu, running, swimming, that’s fun.
“I’d box Nate [Diaz]. … I’d rather [fight] Nate in boxing, I think.”
In his most recent win earlier this annum, Lafayette striker, Poirier turned in a rallying knockout win over French contender, Benoit Saint Denis, stopping the Nimes native with a second round knockout win in the co-main event of UFC 299.
On this day in 2016, Conor McGregor met Nate Diaz in one of the most-watched rematches in UFC pay-per-view…
On this day in 2016, Conor McGregor met Nate Diaz in one of the most-watched rematches in UFC pay-per-view history.
McGregor and Diaz first met five months earlier in the UFC 196 headliner. Despite coming in on short notice to replace an injured Rafael dos Anjos, the ‘Stockton Samurai’ shocked the world with a second-round submission victory over the Irish megastar.
It was the first loss of McGregor’s career inside the Octagon.
Five months later, they would run it back at T-Mobile Arena in what would become one of the UFC’s biggest events of all time. This time around McGregor would come out on top, scoring a majority decision via two 48-47 scorecards while a third judge ruled the fight a 47-47 draw.
With 1.65 million buys, UFC 202 was the most-bought PPV card in UFC history, up to that point. Two years later, ‘Mystic Mac’ broke the record once again with his UFC 229 clash against Khabib Nurmagomedov — the first and only UFC pay-per-view to eclipse two million buys.
As it stands, his sequel with Diaz is still the third-highest-grossing PPV of all time, sitting only behind UFC 229 and McGregor’s trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.
Despite taking separate career paths, Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz remain adamant that their trilogy fight will happen
With the series deadlocked at 1-1, everyone expected a trilogy fight between Diaz and the then-featherweight champion to be booked in short order. Eight years later, we’re still waiting.
Following their duology, McGregor and Diaz went down separate paths. McGregor’s next fight saw him score a third-round TKO against Eddie Alvarez to claim the lightweight championship, making him the promotion’s first-ever simultaneous two-division titleholder.
As for Diaz, the Stockton, CA native only fought four more times under the UFC banner, going 2-2 including wins over Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis and Tony Ferguson. Diaz exited the UFC in September 2022 with plans to pursue a career in boxing. Since then, he’s stepped inside the squared circle twice, dropping a unanimous decision to Jake Paul before landing a majority decision against BMF rival Jorge Masvidal a year later.
Despite no longer being signed by the UFC, Nate Diaz is confident that he and Conor McGregor will close out their trilogy at some point.
“I 100% guarantee I’m going to fight Conor McGregor again,” Diaz said at a media event to promote his boxing match with Jorge Masvidal.
McGregor has also remained adamant that the threequel will happen, telling Ariel Helwani in an in-studio interview last year, “I’ll get that again. That trilogy will happen at some stage, for sure.”
The Baddy’ Paddy Pimblett has selected the outspoken Colby Covington as his next opponent after UFC 304. The English-born…
The Baddy’ Paddy Pimblett has selected the outspoken Colby Covington as his next opponent after UFC 304. The English-born athlete did not mince words when it came to the American ‘Choas’ Covington, a three-time title contender.
Paddy Pimblett vs. Colby Covington
‘Chaos’ Colby Covington is a figure who tries to stir up controversy with his words. A staunch supporter of Donald Trump and the MAGA ideals. In the UFC, he has unsuccessfully tried for gold in three bouts, most recently coming off a one-sided loss to Leon Edwards. The most recent win for Covington was a 2022 decision over Jorge Masvidal.
The Englishman Paddy Pimblett had a successful MMA career in Cage Warriors before signing with the UFC. Since then, the 29-year-old has earned five consecutive wins. At UFC 304, he will be looking to break into the top 15 rankings with a win over Bobby King Green. In his most recent bout, ‘The Baddy’ successfully defeated Tony Ferguson. Most notably, Paddy Pimblett is a popular fighter among fans of MMA.
Speaking to Tim Wheaton in an exclusive interview with LowKick MMA, interview conducted on behalf of AceOdds, the Pimblett explained:
“I’ll fight anyone. I was talking about this the other day. I’d love to fight Colby. Colby, he’s at welterweight but he’s not a big welterweight, and I’m a big lightweight. I’d love to fight Colby Covington because he’s a little piece of sh*t. What he said about Leon’s dad that time was disgusting. I’d fucking love to punch that little prick’s head in.”
Paddy Pimblett and Nate Diaz
Stockton’s Nate Diaz was a fan favorite and popular fighter while he was competing in the UFC. Since leaving the organization he has taken up boxing and had blockbuster matches against the likes of Jorge Masvidal and Jake Paul. Pimblett has hinted that free agency may be on the horizon for him.
For a potential match against Nate Diaz, Pimblett said:
“Yeah, if Nate Diaz wants to fight me I wouldn’t say no. If anyone wants to fight me, I wouldn’t say no. We’re fighters. I hate it when people say, oh he’s scared to fight him. Even though I don’t like Ilia, I haven’t said he’s scared to fight Max. I’ve said he doesn’t want to sign the contract, but I haven’t said he’s scared. We’re fighters, we’re not scared, otherwise we wouldn’t get in the cage and fight.”
“Diaz is a quality fighter, but he’s a lot older now. So I’d probably use my speed advantage over him. He’s a great boxer, so I’d try and kick a lot. And he’s got world-class jiu-jitsu. He’s been took down and held down by people before and as you know, Tony Ferguson’s got world-class jiu-jitsu and I took him down and grapple fucked him and he didn’t stand a chance. So I think I’ll probably do the same to Nate. But, I really liked Nate Diaz as well.”
Despite being a fan of Diaz, Pimblett would expect a war of words ahead of their potential showdown, he added:
“I was saying that I liked Tony Ferguson before he started chatting shit at the press conference. I was always a Tony Ferguson fan and a Nate Diaz fan, but I’m sure he’s tried to shit on me in the past as well. If it comes down to fighting them, it will get put on them.”
Paddy Pimblett UFC 304
But before he can meet Colby Covington or Nate Diaz, Paddy Pimblett will have his hands full against the slick striker Bobby King Green at UFC 304. This match is booked for July 27 live from Machester, England.
“My main objective is to be the best fighter in the world so I wanna go back and get a UFC title. Leon Edwards, Jake Paul…You’re dead,” Diaz said.
Keeping his eyes on the task at hand, ‘Rocky’ hasn’t had much to say about Diaz’s comment, but Edwards’ coach, Dave Lovell, made it clear that the champ has more important things to worry about. Lovell also suggested that Diaz should have left the fight game a long time ago, citing all the punishment he’s absorbed over his two-decade-long run.
“It’s all a joke. Leon ain’t got time for that Micky Mouse business right now, bruv,” Lovell told Submission Radio. “Nate is making money still and fighting, but me personally I think he needs to leave the game alone. He’s taken a little bit too much punishment now…This guy’s got a life after fighting.”
Nate Diaz and Leon Edwards delivered an instant classic in their lone UFC meeting
Leon Edwards and Nate Diaz met once on MMA’s biggest stage, squaring off in a critically acclaimed clash at UFC 263 in March 2021. While ‘Rocky’ led the dance for the majority of the five-round affair, Diaz tagged Edwards late in the fifth round with a booming right hand that had the UK star stumbling.
Diaz poured it on for the final minute but was able to secure the finish and came up short on the scorecards.
Perhaps we’ll see the two run it back inside the Octagon once Leon Edwards’ days of reigning over the welterweight division are over.
Conor McGregor has been back in the headlines this week as he hosted his first press conference as part-owner of BKFC ahead of the company’s scheduled event in Marbella, Spain later this year. The former UFC two-weight world champion was scheduled to fight in the Octagon for the first time in three years at UFC […]
Conor McGregor has been back in the headlines this week as he hosted his first press conference as part-owner of BKFC ahead of the company’s scheduled event in Marbella, Spain later this year.
The former UFC two-weight world champion was scheduled to fight in the Octagon for the first time in three years at UFC 303 recently, but a foot injury put paid to those plans. Speaking at the BKFC press conference, the Irishman revealed that he only has two fights left on his current contract with the UFC and said that he has ambitions to test the waters inside the bareknuckle ring once those commitments are fulfilled.
Conor McGregor says he’s got 2 fights left on his UFC contract and then he “has his eyes on” Bareknuckle Fighting Championship
With that in mind, let’s take a look at five intriguing options we would love to see “The Notorious” face in BKFC.
Nate Diaz
The rivalry between McGregor and Diaz has simply refused to go away ever since the pair first met inside the Octagon at UFC 196 back in 2016. Diaz took the fight on short notice as a replacement for McGregor’s original opponent Rafael Dos Anjos and shocked the world by handing the then-featherweight champion his first defeat in the UFC.
McGregor won an immediate rematch via majority decision just five months later and it seemed it would only be a matter of time before the pair would square off again. The rubber match never came, however, and Diaz fought out his UFC contract, finishing up with a submission victory over Tony Ferguson in September of 2022.
Although he failed to enter the title picture during his career inside the Octagon, Perry is now regarded as one of the biggest draws in combat sports outside the UFC.
Jorge Masvidal
“Gamebred” was a mainstay in the UFC’s lightweight and welterweight divisions between 2013-2023. He twice fought for the 170lb title against Kamaru Usman but was unsuccessful both times. After leaving the UFC (and temporarily retiring) in 2023 he recently made his first foray into the world of boxing when he faced Nate Diaz.
McGregor invited the former IBF and WBA welterweight boxing champion into his camp as a sparring partner in the lead up to his infamous boxing match against Floyd “Money” Mayweather back in 2017. After sharing multiple clips of McGregor knocking down Malignaggi during the workouts all over social media, tensions between the pair spiralled and rumors circulated that they would meet in a boxing match further down the line.
Malignaggi has carved out a career as a boxing commentator and analyst and has worked on BKFC events since his retirement from fighting. At 42-years-old, could we see him tempted into one more fight with his old rival?
After Nurmagomedov conclusively beat “The Notorious” at UFC 229 back in 2018 to claim the UFC lightweight championship, the Irishman campaigned tirelessly for a rematch. His disappointment at Khabib announcing his retirement just two years later was captured on camera during the filming of his documentary McGregor Forever, and the Dubliner has never missed an opportunity to berate Nurmagomedov when given the chance in the years that have passed.
Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal appears have to been a financial disaster. Five years removed from their BMF title…
Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal appears have to been a financial disaster.
Five years removed from their BMF title clash under the UFC banner, Diaz and Masvidal ran it back inside the squared circle on July 6 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Their 10-round scrap was an entertaining affair that ultimately saw the ‘Stockton Samurai’ score a majority decision victory over Masvidal.
Unfortunately, nobody paid to see it.
“It did horrible on pay-per-view, it did TNA numbers,” Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer reported. “I’m not exaggerating. I knew it would not do well, but I was absolutely stunned how poorly it did. Nobody bought the fight. People are sick of seeing MMA fighters boxing” (h/t BJPenn.com).
For reference, TNA wrestling’s PPV numbers range anywhere from 5,000 to 60,000. If those numbers prove to be true, it’s safe to say that Fanmio’s venture into combat sports pay-per-view is an unmitigated disaster.
Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal scored a solid $1.25 million gate in Anaheim
It wasn’t all bad news for Fanmio as the event hosted a sell-out crown of 18,040 per a post-fight press release, generating a solid $1.25 million gate according to the California State Athletic Commission.
Unfortunately, that’s not going to be anywhere close to what they allegedly promised to pay Nate Diaz for his participation in the evening’s headliner.
On this day in 2016, Conor McGregor met Nate Diaz in one of the most-watched rematches in UFC pay-per-view…
The Baddy’ Paddy Pimblett has selected the outspoken Colby Covington as his next opponent after UFC 304. The English-born…
Leon Edwards has much bigger fish to fry. This Saturday night, July 27, ‘Rocky’ will return to the Octagon…
Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal appears have to been a financial disaster. Five years removed from their BMF title…
