Three Years of McGregor vs Diaz 2: A once in a lifetime UFC rivalry 

On the eve of the three-year completion of his iconic UFC 202 fight against Nate Diaz, former two-division UFC World Champion, Conor McGregor took to his official Instagram handle to send a tribute message to the Stockton slugger and also congratulated him on his recent comeback win in the Octagon.

McGregor vs Diaz- A once in a lifetime rivalry

After a hiatus from Octagon competition for almost over a year, Nate Diaz finally made his return to the cage at UFC on Fox 17 in December of 2015 against Michael Johnson in a Lightweight bout. Despite having spent the past year on the sidelines, Diaz was clinical with his performance as usual, as he outclassed Johnson to secure a win via split decision.

What followed next, however, certainly was the turning point in Nate Diaz's career, as the younger Diaz brother called out former UFC Featherweight Champion, Conor McGregor in one of the most iconic post-fight Octagon interviews.

At UFC 196, McGregor was initially scheduled to face Rafael dos Anjos, however, the Brazilian eventually pulled out from the fight citing an injury. In stepped Nate Diaz as a replacement for Dos Anjos and that too on a short notice of just 11 days. The dream fight between Diaz and McGregor finally turned into a reality, as the two Lightweight fighters took center stage at Welterweight due to lack of time to cut weight.

With a buzzing crowd MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Diaz and McGregor finally went to war in a five-round fight. And right from the get-go, the two men were at it, hitting each other with some brutal body shots to bring an end to the first round. Diaz, who is known for his outrageous amount of cardio, was clearly dominating at 170, whereas, signs of McGregor being gassed out were clearly visible by this point.

As the fight resumed, Diaz didn't waste any further time, as he caught McGregor with a bunch of combinations and flurry of punches and eventually took the fight to the ground. McGregor had no response to the Stockton fighter on the mat as the latter almost toyed around with The Notorious One before eventually making him submit to a Rear-Naked Choke.

This was surely Diaz's biggest win so far and an immediate rematch was written all over this rivalry. The second fight between the pair was eventually set for UFC 200, however, with McGregor having failed to meet the obligations, pulled out from the card and the fight was eventually rescheduled for UFC 202.

UFC 202- The Rematch

At UFC 202, Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor were set for their highly anticipated rematch this time at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. With the Irishman looking to avenge his first UFC loss, McGregor was out for revenge, whereas, Diaz was out to solidify his place as one of the greatest fighters to ever step foot in the game (like he hasn't done that already). The fight started off and as usual, both fighters had five, five-minute rounds. What followed next was 25 minutes of sheer brutality between two of UFC's hardest-hitting strikers, as Diaz and McGregor produced an instant blood bath classic in Vegas. McGregor eventually walked out as the winner of the rematch and tied the score to 1-1.

McGregor posts a tribute of his rematch with Nate Diaz

In his latest Instagram post, Conor McGregor congratulated Nate Diaz on his return win over Anthony Pettis over the weekend and claimed that it was motivating to see Diaz win for the sake of McGregor's own comeback. The former Lightweight Champion added that he sure did love Diaz' round 3 style of fighting and claimed that he will be prepared for a trilogy fight if the pair ever do it.