Tag: Nate Diaz

‘Free Conor’: Nate Diaz advocates for Conor McGregor on St. Patrick’s Day

Nate Diaz defends his longtime rival Conor McGregor against UFC contract structure in a St. Patrick’s Day tweet.

Free [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag].

That’s the message [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag] expressed Sunday, St. Patrick’s Day, toward his longtime Irish rival.

“This was me for years before Conor even got here,” Diaz wrote on X. “They want u to die before u get out these contracts it’s up to u to make something pop no one gonna help you but you Free Conor it’s at pattys day in this b*tch.”

Diaz’s comments refer to McGregor’s continued public calls for a UFC return while doing media rounds for his upcoming film “Road House.” While McGregor has expressed interest in fighting, UFC CEO Dana White has repeatedly indicated McGregor’s wealth and the film have gotten in the way.

McGregor, 35, has not competed since a July 2021 leg break suffered in a fight vs. Dustin Poirier. He underwent extensive rehabilitation and removed himself from the UFC’s anti-doping testing pool. McGregor reentered the pool in October, with the promotion indicating he’d need to undergo six months of testing before his return.

Diaz, 38, became a free agent in November 2022. He boxed Jake Paul in August and lost a decision. He’ll return for another boxing match on June 1, this time vs. former UFC opponent Jorge Masvidal.

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Jorge Masvidal, Nate Diaz set for June 1 boxing match in Los Angeles

Former UFC stars Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal will run it back – but this time in the boxing ring.

It’s the 209 vs. the 305 all over again as [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag] and [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] are set for a rematch – this time in boxing.

After weeks of a rumored showdown, it became official Wednesday. The two former UFC stars will box June 1 at Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The match will be a 10-round, 175-pound bout that will stream on Fanmio pay-per-view at a $79.99 price point ($49.99 for pre-orders through April 12).

Diaz and Masvidal first fought for the inaugural BMF title at UFC 244 in November 2019. The fight was stopped after the third round due to Diaz suffering a laceration.

“Nate’s a dead man walking,” Masvidal said in a statement. “I can’t wait to prove that last time was no fluke. He got saved by the referee. Now we are boxing, which he says is his forte, but he’s got no shot at beating me. I’m not going to give him an inch in that ring to even breathe. If he thought our MMA match was bad, this is going to be much worse.”

Diaz, 38, made his boxing debut in August when he lost a unanimous decision to Jake Paul in a 10-round, 185-pound bout. The match was his boxing debut and first combat sports competition since he departed the UFC in 2022.

Masvidal, 39, has yet to compete since his retirement from MMA in 2023. He’s largely contributed to the combat sports scene as a promoter with Gamebred Boxing and Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA.

Conor McGregor says he wants Michael Chandler in June, Nate Diaz in September at Noche UFC

Conor McGregor lays out his ideal plan to return this year, but he isn’t so sure the UFC is on board.

[autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] has a plan in mind, but he isn’t so sure the UFC is on board.

McGregor took to his Instagram Stories on Tuesday to air his frustration with the lack of clarity around his return to the octagon, all while laying out his ideal scenario for 2024. McGregor is hoping to get booked against [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] on June 29 (as he originally announced) and then against [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag] in September at Noche UFC.

“I wish for (the Diaz fight) on Mexican Independence Day in the Sphere,” McGregor wrote. “Chandler, June. Diaz, September. I have let this be known.”

McGregor added, “Still holding hope for June 29th. Lack of action on it however is now causing lack of enthusiasm. I need a decision soon. I am the most tested athlete under this new regime. Yet no date to fight. The game is a bit lackluster also at present, which isn’t helping. I hope these next few cards pop and I get a date. Eliminate distractions and begin real work towards it.”

McGregor has been itching to return to the octagon for months ever since he wrapped his coaching role on Season 31 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” He’s been training and appears to be fully healed from his 2021 leg break in his fight against Dustin Poirier and has been publicly pressuring the UFC to book him.

UFC CEO Dana White was recently asked by MMA Junkie on the reason why McGregor has yet to be booked to fight, in which he gave vague answers and alluded to McGregor’s wealth, promotional duties with his movie “Road House,” and other factors.

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Nate Diaz def. Conor McGregor at UFC 196: Best photos

Check out these photos from Nate Diaz’s submission win over Conor McGregor at UFC 196.

Check out these photos from [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag]’s submission victory over [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] at UFC 196. (Photos by Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports)

Daniel Cormier takes issue with Nate Diaz saying he’s not a fighter: ‘We are not in the same stratosphere’

The back-and-forth between Daniel Cormier and Nate Diaz continues.

The back-and-forth between [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] and [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag] continues.

Diaz fired back at Cormier, after the former two-division champion said he’d rather not see him headline UFC 306, which is the “Noche UFC” event at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

Cormier was not happy with Diaz calling him a b*tch.

“First off, I have no problem with Nate Diaz,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “I have no issue with him. I don’t really know Nate. I’ve always respected Nate for what he did inside the octagon. I’m a lot of things, guys, but one thing I’m not is nobody’s b*tch. I’m not a b*tch. So my question is this: When did it become OK for men to start calling each other out their name like that?

“When did that become OK? I don’t disrespect nobody in my assessments of them. I try my best to be as fair as I can. I don’t quite understand why people think it’s OK to attack you in that way, especially calling you outside your name like that. It’s not cool, man. You don’t get to just talk to people any way you want.”

Diaz also said Cormier isn’t a fighter, prompting him to go on a rant by comparing their accolades and resume.

“To say I’m not a fighter, I don’t get it,” Cormier said. “Again, I feel like I was actually pretty fair to this dude because when you really think about it, to say I’m not a fighter, when you really think about it – Nate Diaz was fun, Nate Diaz got to a championship opportunity. But if I’m not a fighter, what’s that make him? What does that make him? If I did what I did, and he did what he did, what’s that make him? One time I was talking to Khabib (Nurmagomedov) when Nate was coming at Khabib, and Khabib said something to the effect of, ‘This man has lost 12 or 13 fights in his career. Daniel, I can’t respond to this guy. I can’t take this guy serious because who loses to that many people?’

“How can you call me not a fighter when you have had those instances? What did I do? I fought the best. I fought the best in the world constantly. So to say I’m not a fighter because I have an opinion on whether or not I want to see him headline the Sphere …

“The reality is, one thing we will not do is compare myself to Nate Diaz, because it’s different levels – much different. I’m a champion – two weight classes. I lost three times in my career – four if you count the fight that was called a no contest (because of a Jon Jones positive test) … four times, two guys. We are on much different wavelengths. We are on much different planets. We are not in the same stratosphere in terms of fighters – we’re not – and it’s time for me to stop allowing people to attack or come at me in these ways when I’m doing my job.”

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Nate Diaz fires back at ‘b*tch’ Daniel Cormier with crying meme in response to UFC 306 criticism

Daniel Cormier had a feeling Nate Diaz would get mad at him for being critical of this stage of his career – and he was right.

[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] had a feeling [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag] would get mad for being critical of this stage of his career – and he was right.

Earlier this week, Cormier released a video on his YouTube channel expressing that he wasn’t keen on Diaz returning to the octagon to headline UFC 306, which the promotion has earmarked as its highly anticipated “Noche UFC” event at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Cormier’s words were in response to a Diaz social media post in which he hinted at wanting to fight at UFC 306.

“While the name value is exciting, Nate Diaz the fighter isn’t that guy anymore,” Cormier said. “He’ll get mad at me, and he might say something to me when I see him. I don’t know, I don’t really care. But we have to tell the truth. This isn’t the guy that beat Conor the first time. Nate has had moments. Against Leon Edwards, he had a moment. But outside of that, he got beat on the whole time.”

Diaz didn’t wait to see Cormier to let him know what he thinks as he posted a meme on X of Cormier crying and calling him a “b*tch” and “not a fighter.”

Cormier did express that he would like to see Diaz compete at UFC 306, only that he would take umbrage with a headlining spot for the 38-year-old who most recently lost a boxing match to Jake Paul last August.

“Will I watch him on the pay-per-view card? Absolutely,” Cormier said. “… But to be the headliner, with all these great fighters that are deserving of that spot? I don’t think so. I don’t need to see that.”

Diaz fought out his contract in September 2022, when he beat Ferguson at UFC 279, a left the UFC shortly after. His only fight since his departure was the boxing match against Paul.

Should Diaz want to return to the octagon, UFC CEO Dana White has said the door is open anytime he’d like.

UPDATE: Cormier issued a response to Diaz calling him “a b*tch” and “not a fighter.”

Daniel Cormier: Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 3 would be perfect UFC 300 main event

Daniel Cormier says UFC 300 is “missing a big fight.” What could be bigger than the Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz trilogy?

[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] believes there’s an even bigger fight for [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag]’s return that would make for a perfect UFC 300 headliner.

McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) is expected to meet Michael Chandler in his comeback fight, but an official date has yet to be set. UFC 300 is starting to shape up nicely but is still without a main event. A rematch between welterweight champion Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad has been linked to UFC 300, but Cormier doesn’t see it as a big enough fight to headline the milestone event April 13 in Las Vegas.

“What I will say about UFC 300, it’s missing a big fight,” Cormier said on “DC & RC.” “That big fight that it’s missing has to have a backstory. That big fight has to have bad blood. That big fight has to bring the eyeballs. So, it can’t be Belal Muhammad and Leon Edwards because it just doesn’t have enough to it. While it’s a fantastic fight, it doesn’t have enough to it for it to be the main event.”

Cormier believes McGregor, the sport’s biggest star, should headline UFC 300. [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag] posted an image of him face to face with McGregor in the octagon, hinting that he’s ready to settle their trilogy. With the pair splitting their two previous bouts, Cormier sees a rubber match as a fight that would generate the biggest audience for UFC 300.

“Regardless of who he would fight, the attraction comes with him,” Cormier said. “But if McGregor fights Diaz, that is what I believe draws the general fan in as much as anything that they could do in the UFC right now – just because of Nate Diaz and the intrigue, the way the first fight played out, the way the second fight played out. It is still two of the highest-grossing pay-per-views in UFC history.

“These two men, when you put them together, make a lot of money, and it is far enough out there to be considered an attraction. I also believe at this point in their careers, sure, Nate Diaz isn’t the guy that he was before. He’s not the guy that fought the most beautiful striking exhibit against Michael Johnson in Florida, where he went and (said), ‘Conor McGregor, you’re taking everything I worked for.’ He’s not that same guy, but neither is Conor McGregor.”

Diaz hasn’t competed in an MMA fight since his September 2022 win over Tony Ferguson, which was the last fight on his UFC contract. Even though he departed, UFC CEO Dana White has kept the door open for a possible future return. Since leaving the UFC, Diaz competed in a boxing match last September against Jake Paul, which he lost by unanimous decision.

McGregor hasn’t fought since July 2021, when he broke his leg during an injury TKO loss to Dustin Poirier in their trilogy.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.

Watch Mike Perry pitch a UFC 300 fight with Nate Diaz to Hunter Campbell on the phone

Mike Perry is the type of guy to call a UFC executive to try and convince him of a fight with Nate Diaz – while recording a podcast.

[autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag] has been making a lot of noise lately about fighting at UFC 300 and if he’s truly serious about that, there’s at least one man ready, willing and able to accommodate him.

And that’s [autotag]Mike Perry[/autotag].

Because, you see, Mike Perry is the type of guy to see Diaz talk sh*t on social media – talking about “UFC 300 would be tight but there’s nobody to fight” – and then take action by getting UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell on the phone to try to convince him to set it up.

That’s exactly what Perry did on the most recent episode of the “Overdogs Podcast,” which you can watch in the video below (starts at 28:28):

Perry: “Nate Diaz says there’s no one to fight on UFC 300. I’m saying me and Nate, y’all could bring me back for a little purse and then throw in the PPV points, and then we could have a great show for UFC 300.”

Campbell: “I’ve got a better idea: Why don’t you call f*cking … why don’t your guys talk to f*cking Nate and get him to go over and fight you there (in BKFC)?”

Watching that entire conversation (which may or may not have been illegal to record, by the way) was both hilarious and fascinating. We know – at least publicly from Dana White – that the UFC and Diaz have remained on good terms despite his departure from the promotion last year. And based on this conversation, it appears that’s also the case with Perry, who left the UFC in late 2021.

Perry has reignited his career as a bareknuckle boxer, going 4-0 in BKFC since his debut in February 2022. He’s the promotion’s “King of Violence.” Meanwhile, Diaz lost in a boxing match to Jake Paul last August.

You telling me you wouldn’t want to see Perry and Diaz throw down in the cage? Sign me up!

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Daniel Cormier doesn’t anticipate Nate Diaz doing well in boxing match vs. Jorge Masvidal

Daniel Cormier explains why he has no interest in seeing Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz in a boxing ring.

[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] has no interest in seeing [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] box [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag].

After Masvidal announced that he’s “unretired,” rumors started swirling that he will return for a boxing match against Diaz later this year in Las Vegas. Masvidal’s most recent win came in the octagon when he battered Diaz en route to a Round 3 doctor’s stoppage TKO to claim the “BMF” title in November 2019. Considering how their MMA fight went, Cormier thinks it would go even worse for Diaz in the ring.

“I tap out because even in the mixed martial arts fight, we kind of had the idea that Masvidal would be a better striker, and Nate was the better ground guy, and Nate was the better wrestler, the better grappler, and Masvidal dominated that,” Cormier said on his ESPN show “DC & RC.” “So now you’re telling me you’re going to now limit Nate Diaz to fighting Jorge in the only area that we felt he held the advantage going into Fight 1. Yeah, I don’t anticipate it going well for my boy Nate Diaz.”

Diaz tried his hand at boxing when he faced Jake Paul this past August in a 10-round bout but was dropped in a unanimous decision loss. Meanwhile, after beating Diaz, Masvidal would go on to lose four straight MMA fights before announcing his retirement at UFC 287 in April.

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24 fights on our 2024 MMA wish list: Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones (still), Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 3, more

Here’s MMA Junkie’s 24-fight wishlist for the new year.

2023 didn’t disappoint in terms of great MMA action, and 2024 looks just as promising, if not more.

With 2024 underway, there’s a new year of fresh possibilities for dream matchups across the MMA landscape, from the UFC to Bellator, PFL, RIZIN FF, ONE Championship and more.

For 2023, unfortunately, only four of the 23 dream fights MMA Junkie wished for came to fruition. We’re not deterred, however, and are back with another slate of 24 matchups we aspire to see in 2024.

Below, we present MMA Junkie’s wish list of 24 fights we’d like to see in 2024.