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Nate Diaz returned to Ariel Helwani's MMA Show for the first time since November of 2019 and expressed interest in a return fight to the Octagon against Dustin Poirier or Charles Oliveira.
The UFC fan favorite is expected to make his return this year after losing the BMF title fight to Jorge Masvidal at UFC 244, back in 2019.
Nate Diaz has occasionally been in the news for calling out fighters in the past year but no bout has really materialized. Nate Diaz himself has received tons of callouts from elite fighters but seems interested only in certain opponents.
The Stockton native has shown his interest in fighting Dustin Poirier after the latter's victory over Conor McGregor at UFC 257. The fight, however, failed to impress Nate Diaz.
"I think it was less of Dustin doing anything great, and more of Conor f—king up. That’s my personal opinion. I think he was landing shots, it looked pretty in-the-bag to me," said Diaz.
Diaz and Poirier were scheduled to fight a couple of years ago and the younger Diaz sibling thinks it's the perfect time for the fight to take place.
"Now is the time, for sure, to fight. We should’ve fought a long time ago, and now the stars are aligned," said Diaz.
Another prospective matchup that Nate Diaz mentioned was against the #3 contender in the lightweight division, Charles 'De Bronx' Oliveira. To this effect, Nate Diaz told Helwani.
"Who's the guy who beat... Ferguson? That’s the guy right there. I’ll fight that guy right there, that’s who I’ll fight," said Diaz.
Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor: A rivalry for the ages
Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor have one of the fiercest rivalries in the history of the UFC. The two first fought at UFC 196 in March of 2016, where Nate Diaz picked up a submission win in the second round. The duo faced stepped into the Octagon for a rematch later that year, which Conor Mcgregor went on to win via unanimous decision.
However, Nate Diaz no longer seems interested in fighting McGregor and believes that the Notorious One repeats his mistakes.
"This happens because he doesn’t want to be in there, too. He’s anxious for the kill because he wants out. He should have slowed it down a little bit, and then he didn’t. He pushed the pace and he got caught slipping. The leg thing was a factor, but c’mon, you were f—king up the whole time. That’s what I think about that fight," said Diaz.
Conor McGregor took a jibe at Nate Diaz by commenting on ESPN MMA's Instagram post about the interview. The Irishman mocked Nate Diaz for sitting in a race car chair during the interview.
