UFC lightweight contender Nate Diaz has called out president Dana White, as well as lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and featherweight king Conor McGregor following the announcement the two will meet at UFC 205 on November 12.
As reported by Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com, Diaz believes the two fighters are afraid of him, and White needs to stop doing everything possible to make the Notorious look good:
F--k them both. You know both those little b---es are afraid to fight me. That's why they are fighting each other.
And tell Dana I said get off Conor's nuts. I left my room to that fight at 176 (pounds), so when I fought I was probably 173. Quit telling people I was a monster to make him look good. I've been a lightweight my whole career.
Diaz was last seen inside the Octagon at UFC 202 on August 20, where he lost a rematch with McGregor by majority decision. That loss took the series between the two to 1-1, leading to plenty of calls and speculation regarding another rematch to complete the trilogy, per BJPenn.com.
According to Helwani, a rematch was never a real option, however, and instead, McGregor will now be gunning for a belt in a second weight class?the very reason he moved up and faced Diaz in the first place.
Per Diaz, Alvarez promised him a bout after his win over Gilbert Melendez at UFC 188, but he instead fought Anthony Pettis before knocking out lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos for the belt: "Eddie said I was next after Gilbert, then I called him a b---h in the lobby and he turned the fight down repeatedly until I beat Conor. Then he called every day asking for the fight. B---h. What kinda fighters are these guys?"
He doubled-down with his comments on Twitter (Warning: NSFW language):
Fake phony motherfukers ??????
— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) September 27, 2016
The 31-year-old has been a UFC regular and a fan favourite for years, but he never delivered consistently at the box office until his shock submission of McGregor at UFC 196. The second-round win made him an overnight mainstream sensation, setting up the rematch at UFC 202.
Diaz obviously wants to strike while the iron is hot, and it must be frustrating that he's still without a fight while McGregor is moving on in the lightweight division. Despite losing the first of their two fights, the Notorious will get the title shot Diaz has been waiting for for years.
McGregor's meeting with Alvarez also means he will not be defending his featherweight strap for a third-consecutive fight?win or lose, there's a good chance he drops down in weight next to face the top challenger, as he has no intention of giving up his belt. He made that very clear during the UFC 205 press conference, via the organisation's official Twitter account (Warning: NSFW language):
So if @TheNotoriousMMA has two belts, where will he put them? ?? #UFC205 #UFCNYC https://t.co/BYmHg7FvyB
— UFC (@ufc) September 27, 2016
That means Diaz's unexpected run of big-money fights might come to an abrupt end, and the final instalment of his trilogy with McGregor might be pushed back for years?even if it's likely to go ahead at some point.
