It looks like Nate Diaz didn’t go chasing the bag after all with his decision to go fight at Netflix’s debut MMA event.
Diaz, an MMA superstar who fought in some of the biggest UFC fights in history, revealed that the UFC actually had a bigger offer on the table than the one he took to fight fellow former UFC fighter Mike Perry at Most Valuable Promotion’s first MMA event May 16 (Netflix).
Advertisement
UFC CEO Dana White recently confirmed there were talks for a Diaz’ return to the octagon, but said MVP gave him “an offer he couldn’t refuse,” making it sound like a more lucrative option for Diaz.
Speaking to comedian Theo Von, Diaz said that wasn’t the case, yet he still went with MVP.
“I wanted to go back to the UFC, yeah,” Diaz said. “I had bigger offers from the UFC than I got from these guys, but the offers, the opponents, weren’t the right opponents. I believe that everything in this fight game, and in everything, is timing, and I think that if I would’ve gone to the UFC, I wouldn’t be fighting the fighters that I wanted to be fighting. I wanted to fight the best of the best. If I’m not going to get that, I’m going to fight the biggest thing I can.”
Diaz said the UFC was adamant he’d fight rival Conor McGregor in a trilogy bout to settle their long-standing feud. However, Diaz didn’t want to fight McGregor, at least for now. He had set his sights on Charles Oliveira, who recently won the “Baddest Motherf*cker” belt – a title Diaz inaugurated in 2019.
Advertisement
“For instance, if I went back to the UFC, they wanted me to fight Conor McGregor right now,” Diaz said. “For me, Conor McGregor, pull up his record, I know this, but I’m thinking about it. Conor McGregor just f*cking lost to (Dustin) Poirier. He got knocked ofsssfdfvsf his ass. So Poirier knocks him out, and then he breaks his leg, which is horrible because Poirier is a sorry little b*tch. He knocks him out, and then he gets his leg broken. We’re adversaries, but I don’t wish that on anybody. I hope he comes back and does good, and everyone is counting him out. I know he’s having a hard time with the UFC because I’ve been having a hard time with the UFC. … He is ready to come back now and is motivated to do what he’s got to do. I’m like, ‘I’m going to fight BMF motherf*cker. Who’s claiming my belt who’s running around?aa Charles Oliveira just won the belt, right? I’m like, ‘You’re rocking my belt and running around like you’re the baddest motherf*cker,’ so that’s when I’m like, ‘What’s popping with the UFC?’ Let’s link up and get this fight popping.’
“I go back to talk to them about it, and they’re all ready for me to come back and fight Conor McGregor, and I’m like, ‘Listen to what I’m talking about. I want to fight the best of the best when they’re the best of the best. Conor is great, but I’m not trying to go and kill off Conor when he’s on his last dying f*cking leg.’ I’m not trying to be the end of somebody’s story like that. We’re not friends or anything like that, but I’m not trying to finish this dude off. That’s what I plan on doing if we’re fighting. And at the same time, I’m not trying to get f*cked up by somebody who just got knocked out and broke his leg. This guy is down and now he’s nothing but motivated to fight me because who else is he going to fight in there? They’re probably going to give him the BMF belt, f*cking b*tch ass Oliveira, who I believe I would beat the f*cking sh*t out of.”
On the other hand, Diaz saw an opportunity with Perry. He respects a lot of what Perry has done since his departure from the UFC in 2021. Perry has become a superstar, mauling many notable names in bareknuckle boxing such as Michael Page, Luke Rockhold, Eddie Alvarez, and others, while becoming the promotion’s “King of Violence’ champion. Perry also shared a big stage in fighting Jake Paul, a fight he lost by sixth-round TKO.
“(UFC) like, ‘Oh, we want to come back, and maybe later we do it.’ I’m like, ‘Ok, well, you know who’s doing a good job, and it’s the same closest amount offered for Mike Perry, who’s the most f*cking violent motherf*cker around doing things like taking over businesses and running his own promotions. That sounds a lot more, I’m a lot more enthusiastic about getting up and running and training for this motherf*cker who’s going to knock me out, or I’m going to knock his ass out and take who’s the biggest dog and who’s the best moether f*cker around.”
Advertisement
Although this latest move by Diaz of choosing not to re-sign with the UFC might seem like bad news for those hopeful of a McGregor-Diaz trilogy, the Stockton, Calif. Native is confident he’ll face the Irishman once again in the future at a better time for both.
“Me and Conor will fight again when the time is right, but it’s going to be when we’re both on the uprise, not when somebody is dying or I’m nobody’s comeback story either,” Diaz said. “I’m fighting the most dangerous motherf*cker there is on Netflix, and then I’m hunting his boy (Jake Paul) who he works with at MVP. That’s what I’m doing right now.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Why Nate Diaz chose Netflix fight over UFC return vs. Conor McGregor
