Michael Bisping is not happy with the way Nate Diaz has conducted himself following his ‘BMF’ title loss to Jorge Masvidal at UFC 244.
The fight ended somewhat anti-climatically after the doctor ruled that Diaz was unable to continue after the third round. Diaz suffered massive cuts and gashes to the right side of his face and the former UFC lightweight title challenger had little to no success against Masvidal, who proved to be the vastly superior fighter on the night.
Diaz believes the UFC was out to get him from the get-go and, despite initial calls for a rematch, the 34-year-old says he’s finished with MMA and is officially on tour.
Bisping, the former UFC middleweight champion, blasted Diaz for his post-fight tantrum and says he has lost a lot of respect for the Stockton slugger.
“Listen, I love to watch Nate fight and I love to watch Nick fight,” podcast host Bisping said on a recent episode of Believe You Me (h/t BJPenn.com). “I am a huge fan of both of them, I really am. There was no way I was missing that fight on Saturday. There was no way I was missing the Pettis fight. They’re great fighters. They bring excitement every time. And you’re right there is that aura, that element of there’s a wildness. You don’t know what they’re gonna do and what they’re gonna say, and that’s part of the attraction. I get that, but by losing this fight and then saying, ‘okay I’m gonna retire,’ because it didn’t go his way and then to start coming out with conspiracy theories and things like that. It’s wholly unattractive.”
For him to say, ‘I’m gonna retire,’ he’s only hurting himself,” Bisping continued. “He’s in his mid-30s. I don’t know what is he like, 32? 33? 34, maybe something like that. This window doesn’t last forever. I don’t know what he got paid in New York, but it would’ve been a lot of money I guarantee you that. It was probably in the region of a couple million dollars I would assume. The window of a fighter doesn’t stick around forever. That window does not stay open. Get in, make as much money as you can while you can. He’s only hurting himself. Having one setback getting beaten in a fight, and then saying, ‘man fuck it. That’s it I’m retired.’ I’m sorry, to somebody like me, I have zero respect for that”.
Bisping might be frustrated, but Diaz’ behavior shouldn’t come as a surprise. The UFC fan favorite has flirted with retirement several times throughout his career but has always ended up back in the Octagon at some point or another.
In fact, prior to his BMF title fight against ‘Gamebred’, the younger Diaz brother told Ariel Helwani he could never truly retire from MMA and believes that, ultimately, fighting is good for him.
“I’ll take forever off, or I’ll get back to it if anybody comes correct,” Diaz said. “The only reason we’ve had problems in the past is because you better treat me like it’s supposed to be. I’ve been in this game forever doing my thing regardless of outcome. I’m coming back my next fight stronger, better anyways.”
“I think (fighting) is the best thing for me,” he continued. “It’s weird because it’s self-destructive fighting, and it’s self-destructive not fighting. Kill or be killed. Like I said before, it’d kill him with it, it’d kill him without it. I don’t want to do this (expletive) at all, but sitting back watching somebody else do it is not comfortable for me.”
Source:Bloodyelbow.com
