Conor McGregor's Coach Says He Wants Notorious to Fight Nate Diaz Next

John Locher/Associated Press

John Kavanagh, head coach of Conor McGregor, wants his fighter to face Nate Diaz in a rubber match.

According to Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com, Kavanagh wrote a column for the Irish publication The42.ie in which he stated he wants Diaz to be McGregor's next opponent. However, he granted the fight may not occur until 2018.

McGregor and Diaz split two matches in 2016, with Diaz submitting the former in March at UFC 196 but McGregor winning a majority decision in August at UFC 202.

While Kavanagh suggested 2018 is the next time UFC fans will see McGregor in the Octagon, Okamoto pointed out the organization's president, Dana White, said McGregor planned on fighting again this year before he lost by technical knockout in his first professional boxing match against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Despite the apparent interest in a third match between McGregor and Diaz, Okamoto said there is an interim lightweight title fight between Kevin Lee and Tony Ferguson on Oct. 7. The winner could fight McGregor next considering he is the current lightweight champion.

However, a rubber match would bring elevated drama, especially after Diaz criticized McGregor's style in the boxing match on his Instagram page (NSFW language). "He punched himself out the same way he lost in the UFC there was no learning goin on," Diaz said.

McGregor must have learned something, though, because he earned a victory in the rematch against Diaz after the latter won the first meeting.