Nate Diaz shocked more than a few people when he was booked in a fight against Mike Perry on the upcoming Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano card rather than potentially setting up a trilogy with Conor McGregor as he plots his return to the UFC.
While he later admitted that the UFC actually approached him with a better financial offer, Diaz said he had no interest in putting the final nail in McGregor’s coffin as he attempts to return to form after five years away from the sport. That said, Diaz isn’t shutting down all hope that he’ll never fight McGregor again — he just doesn’t want to be the Irish superstar’s first fight back coming off two losses and suffering a broken leg in his last outing against Dustin Poirier.
“F*ck no [I’m not done with Conor McGregor], that’s just waiting to happen,” Diaz told MMA Fighting. “What I’m saying, I’m a real fighter. Conor McGregor, he’s f*cking still good, he’s still great. He’s f*cking everything he says he is and what UFC says and all that. But I’m not going to let him f*cking test that out on me. I’m not trying to be part of this f*cking Conor McGregor comeback motherf*cking story.
“I don’t want to finish him off. Why don’t you come back and do your thing and when you’re doing your thing and I’m doing my thing then we’ll have our f*cking [trilogy] that you owe me from a long time ago anyway. I think about it like a f*cking bully. What are you going to do? Go fight the guy who got his leg broke off? Nah, let him make his comeback and do his thing and then go beat his ass.”
All signs are pointing towards McGregor running it back with Max Holloway after they first met all the way back in 2013. On that night, McGregor won a decision while fighting with a torn ACL in his knee while Holloway was dealing with a severe ankle injury.
Until McGregor gets back in the cage and looks good doing it, Diaz just isn’t interested in facing him again.
Instead, Diaz stands steadfast by his declaration that he only wants to fight the best opponents in the world, which is why he was so anxious for the showdown against Perry after he established himself as the face of bare-knuckle fighting in BKFC.
“I’m trying to fight the guys like Mike Perry,” Diaz explained. “He f*cking just knocked out Luke Rockhold. He just knocked out Eddie Alvarez and beat all these fools’ assess who were welterweight, middleweight champions and f*cking everybody up and taking over businesses and the baddest motherf*ckers outside the UFC. I’m trying to fight the toughest competition. Any time I didn’t fight when I was in the UFC for any years or any time off, it was only because they weren’t giving me the best motherf*ckers to fight. I always wanted a tough guy. I wanted the best.
“Is Conor McGregor even ranked right now? He’s coming off a knockout. He’s coming off a broken leg. He’s coming off [a downward] spiral.”
Now if McGregor returns to action, scores an impressive victory — especially over somebody like Holloway — then Diaz is happy to answer that call.
“I want Conor to come back and do a good job and then we can lead up and we can get it on,” Diaz said. “I want to fight somebody at their best, not at their worst.”
Diaz maintains that same exact opinion when it comes to a potential fight against Dustin Poirier.
They were scheduled to meet back in 2018 but the matchup got scrapped and Diaz never got the chance to cross paths with Poirier again.
Of course, Poirier announced his retirement after he suffered a loss to Holloway back in July 2025 but the former interim lightweight champion admitted recently that Diaz is the one fight that would get him back in the octagon again.
“I still want to whip Nate’s ass,” Poirier said on the Dark Waters podcast. “I’ll come back to fight him.”
Well stack Poirier right on top of McGregor as opponents that just don’t interest Diaz, especially with the circumstances surrounding his retirement after losing a fight to end his career.
“I feel the same way about f*cking Poirier,” Diaz said. “You’ll come out of retirement for me, b*tch? I never retired, never planned on it, never plan on it. Why don’t you get your f*cking bitch ass back in the ring and start fighting people and when the time’s right we’re going to link up and we’re going to f*cking fight.
“But don’t leave it on me for you to come out of retirement. You’re f*cking done. It’s a wrap. Go lay down with your girlfriend and f*cking put your gloves [in storage], motherf*cker. I’m not trying to fight no retired dude. I’m trying to fight the best.”
As much as money should always matter, Diaz promises his focus remains on fighting only top competition and if that doesn’t qualify then don’t expect him to rush to sign any contract.
“I need numbered fights,” Diaz said. “I’m not fighting because they’re not giving me the best guys. I’ve always fought the best guys. I guarantee you, I fought more top five ranked opponents than any champion ever. That’s what makes me a champion in my book, in my own eyes and in the whole situation, I feel I’m better than everybody.”
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