Nate Diaz has made it quite clear that he’s not interested in stepping back into the Octagon unless it’s Conor McGregor standing across from him. And now he’s putting the pressure on Conor to make it happen. “By this time last fight, I had already accepted rematch,” he wrote on Instagram. “Rest up. I’m coming for you.”
After a back and forth war at UFC 202 that went McGregor’s way via majority decision, the two are now tied at 1-1 on back to back fights. As far as Nate’s concerned, he deserved to win that second fight, too. In his mind, the only reason he didn’t stomp McGregor into the canvas was because of injuries Nate suffered in training camp.
Unfortunately, it sounds like UFC president Dana White isn’t interested in an immediate rubber match. What he says usually goes, and he seemed particularly adamant following UFC 202 that a third fight between Conor and Nate would have to wait.
“We’re definitely not doing this a third time right now,” he said flatly.
And while Conor McGregor is one of the few UFC fighters capable of calling his own shots, he seemed to be considering other possibilities than Diaz after the fight.
“There’s a lot of options,” he said at the post-fight press conference. “And some might not be this sport. So we’ll see.”
Nate may have taken himself out of the conversation completely anyways after smoking a CBD vape pen during Saturday’s post-event press conference. CBD (a non-psychoactive cannabinoid derived from marijuana) is a restricted substance for in-competition fighters, and Nate could face a one year suspension simply for telling reporters he was taking it hours after the fight.
So it could be a while before Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 3 happens. But rest assured, the third fight will go down eventually. There’s too much money to be made, and too much pride on both fighters’ parts, for it not to.