Nate Diaz Refuses To Fight Until Conor McGregor Trilogy Bout
In an riveting display of heart, toughness, and skill, Conor McGregor beat Nate Diaz by decision in a classic bout (full highlights right here) that could end up as 2016’s “Fight of the Year” at last night’s (Sat., August 20, 2016) UFC 202 from Las Vegas.
The win was a closely-contested war that many still feel Diaz should have taken home, but with the controversial scorecards now in the record books, the discussion will quickly move on to just whom McGregor will face next. Although he teased a move back down to his original weight class of featherweight to finally defend his title, Diaz was none too keen on that prospect in his post-fight media scrum (transcribed by MMA Fighting), where he showed up vaping cannabis oil, proclaiming he wouldn’t be fighting until he met McGregor once again:
“I’m not doing sh*t until we go for round three,” Diaz said at the event’s post-fight press conference. “You won’t be seeing me until then. If they want to set it up as soon as possible, let’s do it. But I don’t think it’s a very good business move for him to be taking any other fights, and he’s a businessman, so we’ll see what happens.”
McGregor called for the same thing after his close win last night, adding that he wants the rubber match to be contested at a weight of 155 pounds. A normal lightweight himself, Diaz revealed he wanted the second fight to be contested at 155:
“I’ve been a lightweight the whole time,” Diaz said. “I think I walked into the cage tonight probably at 177, 176, 175. F*ck, maybe lighter. So hell yeah, that’s what I wanted this fight at, so I could have a six-pack. You know you want to be in a picture with a six-pack.”
It will now remain to be seen if the UFC actually decides to go for the third match-up that would no doubt be the most anticipated trilogy fight in UFC history and one of its biggest bouts overall. But at the moment, something else – like the oft-discussed return to 145 – could be in the cards for McGregor. Regardless of what happens, Diaz detailed his belief that he was changing the game by standing up for the compensation he believes fighters should be paid.
Diaz gave “The Notorious” a slight amount of credit for adjusting and lasting until the championship rounds with him the second time, but he also noted his training was allegedly inspired by his own triathlon-centered routine. Heaping praise on his accomplishments, Diaz again said his own renegade persona was why a fighter like McGregor is getting paid with a record purse:
“Change is happening right now,” Diaz said. “If you want to be successful in this business and you want to do good in this business, you’re going to have to follow the leader. And if you’re going to say that somebody else is the leader, you got it wrong. Look at Conor. What did Conor do for this fight? He did exactly what I told his ass to do. He hopped on a bike — a little amateur style, he didn’t have no clips, he didn’t have no helmet, that’s not how you ride but he tried — and he hired all top-10 people to come in from wherever.
“He hired these people and that was a good job, but who taught you how to do that? Your sensei here, man. It’s like, follow the leader as far as the martial artists, follow the leader as far as the businessmen. Like, sh*t, if you think that I’m tripping and just talking out of my ass, then you’re obviously not that bright because I’ve supposed to have been fired already 20 times from this organization, and look where I’m at now. Still doing my thing on the main card.”
Watch the full UFC 202 media scrum with Diaz right here:
