They say patience is a virtue, and if we’ve learned anything over the last few years, it’s that Nate Diaz is never in a hurry.
In 2016, Diaz rose to mainstream prominence when he stepped in against Conor McGregor on short notice and choked out the then-featherweight champion, becoming an international sensation. The two rematched a few months later in what was, at the time, the biggest PPV event in UFC history. But when a trilogy fight didn’t materialize, Diaz was content to sit and wait it out, which he did for three years. Finally, last year, Diaz made his UFC return, beating Anthony Pettis and then calling out Jorge Masvidal and creating his own title in the process. But after losing the BMF belt to Masvidal at UFC 244, Diaz is once again in no rush to return to the cage.
“I want to watch what happens in the next few months,” Diaz told ESPN backstage at Bellator 238.
The next few months could be very interesting. McGregor just made his own return to the octagon, stopping Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds at UFC 246. It was a performance that had fans praising McGregor’s return to form and set up a number of potential fights for the former champ-champ but one that Diaz was not impressed with. After the fight Diaz tweeted “weak as f*ck” and at Bellator 238 he expounded on that analysis.
“Cowboy doesn’t care about winning and losing, so [McGregor] didn’t have a very hard fight on his hands,” Diaz said.
McGregor may well have a more difficult challenge on his hands next though. UFC President Dana White wants McGregor to face Khabib Nurmagomedov next (should Khabib beat Tony Ferguson at UFC 249) but McGregor would prefer to fight before then and has thrown out both Masvidal and Diaz as potential opponents in the interim. But while trilogy fight between Diaz and McGregor is certain to happen at some point, be it next or at some point in the future, that’s certainly not the only option available to Diaz. The BMF title creator is one of the biggest stars in the sport and would have his pick of the litter to choose from, whenever he chooses to return. But as for when that might be, the younger Diaz was as non-committal as ever.
“When the time is right,” Diaz said.
