Why do the Diaz Brothers Keep Turning Down UFC Matches?
We haven’t seen much of Nate Diaz since he took down Conor McGregor at UFC 196 last year. Sure, he agreed to a rematch with McGregor five months later at UFC 202 – a fight he ended up losing by majority decision after five hard fought rounds – but the last time he went up against someone not named Conor McGregor was December of 2015.
Since his loss to McGregor, Diaz has turned down every offer to get back into the Octagon according to UFC president Dana White. And not even White understands why.
“We keep offering Nate fights and he keeps turning them down,” White told TMZ. “Nick, too. I don’t know. Maybe he is [waiting for the trilogy fight with McGregor].”
Back in February, White said the Diaz brothers are the most difficult fighters to get into the Octagon because they keep turning down fights. White said he offered Nick Diaz fights against Robbie Lawler and Demian Maia, only to have him turn down both. It was then rumored that the UFC had offered Nate Diaz a fight against former lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, to which he responded on Twitter with this:
Lol at your fight…
— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) February 4, 2017
Diaz made it clear that he wants to fight McGregor and only McGregor moving forward by saying he isn’t interested in fighting anyone else in the UFC because “there’s no one in MMA who is doing anything good.” McGregor, he said, is the only one who can get him fighting again. It’s probably why he applied for a boxing license shortly after McGregor did when the talks between him and Floyd Mayweather were just starting to gain steam.