Nate Diaz had the money on the table. The UFC offered him more to fight Conor McGregor than he is getting from Most Valuable Promotions for his May 16 Netflix fight against Mike Perry. He still said no — and on March 31, he explained exactly why.
Speaking on Theo Von’s This Past Weekend podcast, Diaz broke his silence on one of the most talked-about non-fights in MMA history.
What came out was as blunt, honest, and unfiltered as anything he has ever said publicly about McGregor, the UFC, and what he still wants from the final chapter of his career.
The UFC Wanted McGregor. Diaz Wanted Oliveira. Here Is What Happened.
When Diaz went back to the UFC, he had one specific target in mind — Charles Oliveira, the current BMF champion.
Diaz helped create the BMF title concept in 2019 when he fought Jorge Masvidal in the inaugural bout. He lost that night, but he has never stopped believing the belt belongs to his legacy.
When Oliveira defeated Max Holloway to claim the title, Diaz saw a clear, meaningful, and personally significant target available.
The UFC had completely different plans.
The moment Diaz walked back into those conversations, the promotion steered everything toward a McGregor trilogy. That was the fight they wanted to make. That was the offer they put on the table.
Diaz turned it down and walked away.
Diaz in His Own Words
“I go back to talk to them about it, and they’re all ready for me to come back and fight Conor,” Diaz said. “I’m like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Listen to what I’m talking about.
I want to fight the best of the best when they’re the best of the best. I believe they wanted me to come back and fight Conor McGregor, not Oliveira.”
Why Nate Diaz Said No to the Biggest Fight in MMA
Diaz’s reasoning is not complicated. He does not want to fight a version of Conor McGregor that he does not consider the best available version of the man.
McGregor has not competed since breaking his leg in his second loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. That is five years of inactivity.
Back-to-back losses. A career-threatening physical injury. A long and difficult rehabilitation. In Diaz’s view, that is not the Conor McGregor he signed up to fight when their rivalry first captured the world’s attention in 2016.
“I want to fight the best of the best when they are the best of the best,” Diaz said. “Conor is great, but I’m not trying to go kill off Conor when he’s on his last dying leg, literally.
I’m not trying to be the ending to some dude’s story like that. We ain’t friends, we ain’t none of that, but I ain’t trying to finish this dude off.”
The Argument Works Both Ways
Diaz was equally clear about the other side of this. He is not willing to step into the cage against someone coming back from that kind of physical and psychological disruption and risk losing to a diminished version of his rival, either.
“I ain’t trying to get messed up by nobody who just got knocked out on his ass and broke his leg.”
He does not want to be the man who ends McGregor. He also does not want to be the name McGregor climbs back on. Both possibilities sit uncomfortably with him for different reasons.
“I Am Nobody’s Comeback Story” — Diaz’s Most Important Statement
This is where Diaz gets to the core of what he is actually saying.
McGregor’s eventual return is going to be framed as a comeback. Whatever fight brings the Irishman back will carry massive commercial weight precisely because of the dramatic story surrounding it — the injury, the years away, the losses before that.
A victory for McGregor would be portrayed as one of combat sports’ greatest returns, a fallen champion reclaiming his relevance against one of the sport’s most famous names.
Nate Diaz has absolutely no interest in being that story for anyone.
“Me and Conor will fight again when the time is right, and it’s to fight — but it’s going to be when we’re both on the uprising,” he said. “Not when someone’s dying out. I’m nobody’s comeback story either.”
The Diaz vs McGregor Rivalry — A Series That Changed MMA Forever
To understand why this decision carries so much weight, the history between these two fighters needs context.
UFC 196 — March 2016 — Diaz Wins
Diaz submitted McGregor in the second round at UFC 196 — handing the Irishman his first ever UFC loss in one of the sport’s greatest and most shocking upsets.
McGregor had taken the fight on just 11 days notice, moving up two full weight classes. Diaz choked him out cold and stood up from the canvas one of MMA’s most celebrated underdog winners.
UFC 202 — August 2016 — McGregor Wins
Five months later, McGregor earned the rematch at UFC 202. Over five of the most entertaining rounds the sport had produced in years, both men were hurt, both men hurt the other, and McGregor eventually took a majority decision. The series ended one fight apiece.
The Trilogy — Still Waiting After a Decade
A third fight has been discussed, anticipated, negotiated, and collapsed more times than either camp can probably count. Based on everything Diaz said on March 31, it is not happening in 2026.
What Nate Diaz Is Doing Instead of Fighting McGregor
On May 16, Diaz returns to MMA action on Netflix against Mike Perry on the undercard of Ronda Rousey versus Gina Carano — one of the most unusual fight cards the sport has assembled in years.
Perry is active, dangerous, unpredictable, and motivated — exactly the kind of opponent Diaz said he is looking for. Not someone rebuilding. Not someone coming off devastating losses. Someone is ready to fight.
Key Facts About the Nate Diaz Situation
- Diaz confirmed the UFC offered him more money for the McGregor trilogy than MVP offered for the Mike Perry fight — and he still chose Perry and Netflix
- He originally approached the UFC about fighting Charles Oliveira for the BMF belt, not McGregor
- McGregor has not fought since breaking his leg at UFC 264 in July 2021
- Diaz fights Mike Perry on May 16 on Netflix — his MMA return after 2024 boxing activity
- His preferred UFC return target remains Oliveira — “He’s walking around with my belt.”
- McGregor is reportedly targeting a July 2026 UFC comeback, but no opponent or date is confirmed
Diaz on Charles Oliveira — The Fight He Actually Wants
While McGregor grabs the headlines, the fight Diaz genuinely wants is with Oliveira and the BMF belt.
“People I beat have beaten him,” Diaz said of Oliveira. “He’s walking around with my belt.”
That argument has merit. The BMF title is one Diaz considers personally significant. He was the fighter most responsible for giving it meaning and commercial weight when he agreed to fight Masvidal for it in 2019.
The idea that Oliveira now walks around with it while Diaz is fighting on the outside is a source of genuine competitive irritation — and a source of motivation for whatever his UFC return eventually looks like.
Will McGregor vs Diaz 3 Ever Happen?
Despite everything Diaz said, he did not close the door. He applied a condition — one that requires both men to be competitive, active, and genuinely dangerous at the same time before he will consider stepping back into the cage with McGregor.
“Conor and I will fight again when the time is right,” he said. “When we were both on the uprising.”
For that to happen, McGregor needs to return from his five-year absence and win. Diaz needs to stay active and relevant through his Netflix run and eventual UFC return. Both things need to align at the same point in time.
Combat sports have a long history of making those alignments either inevitable or impossible. Right now, five years after their last fight and with McGregor still not back in competition, it is genuinely unclear which direction this one goes.
What McGregor Has Said
McGregor has not publicly responded to Diaz’s comments at the time of writing. UFC CEO Dana White has acknowledged that a McGregor comeback in July 2026 is possible, but has confirmed nothing. No opponent for that potential return has been announced.
The Bottom Line — Diaz Is Still Doing It His Way
Nate Diaz is 40 years old. He has been in the UFC for 15 years. He has fought the biggest names the sport has produced. And he is still making every decision entirely on his own terms.
The UFC offered more money. He said no. The biggest name in the sport was on the table. He walked away.
He chose Mike Perry on Netflix over Conor McGregor in the Octagon — not because the money was not right, but because the fight was not right.
That is either the most Diaz thing that has ever happened, or it is exactly the move a fighter makes when he knows precisely what he wants and refuses to settle for anything less until the moment arrives when everything is exactly as it should be.
The trilogy waits. And strangely, that might be exactly how both of them need it.