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After 18 years in the UFC, Nate Diaz left the company in September after defeating Tony Ferguson at UFC 279 in September 2022. Still at the peak of his superstardom, the younger Diaz brother decided to explore other opportunities outside of the UFC and mixed martial arts.
Nate Diaz, who turned 38 in April, will now face former YouTuber Jake Paul in a highly-publicized boxing match in August. And the UFC’s golden child is picking him to defeat “The Problem Child.”
Conor McGregor picks Nate Diaz to defeat Jake Paul
McGregor recently had an exclusive sitdown with Ariel Helwani for Matchroom Boxing in his very own Black Forge pub in Dublin. When asked who he thinks comes out victorious between Nate Diaz and Jake Paul, “The Notorious” picked his former rival.
“I fancy him for it to be honest,” McGregor said of Diaz (H/T MMA Mania). “The other cat (Jake Paul) is a bit windy. He’s a donkey. The guy’s a donkey, the other cat. But a donkey has a kick as well. You just have to be worried about that.”
Despite the threat that Paul brings, McGregor (a.k.a ‘Mystic Mac) is confident that Diaz will be able to get the job done.
“I just see Nate… he’d be peppering him, he’d be in his face, and I just think it would be Nate. It will be Nate.
McGregor says the Nate Diaz rivalry has always been about ‘respect’
Both Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor will always be known for their 2016 rivalry that led to two record-breaking fights. Their first encounter at UFC 196 in March of that year led to a mercurial rise in Diaz’s superstar status by dealing McGregor his first defeat in the UFC.
Their rematch at UFC 202 five months later was an anticipated blockbuster, with McGregor avenging his loss on the scorecards. To date, the event reportedly has the second-highest PPV buys, next to UFC 229 in 2018.
While both men expect a trilogy sometime in the future, McGregor always held Nate Diaz in high regard.
“It’s competitive, but it’s always been respect,” McGregor said of the rivalry.
“How could you not respect the Diaz brothers and their résumé in the fight game. Real fighters. What’s (Nate’s) promotion? Real Fighting Inc. Fair play to them.
“Great fighter. I spent how many minutes in the Octagon with him? Over a half an hour, 40 minutes. 40 minutes inside the cage with the lad. There’s always gonna be respect off of that.
“And he gave me the rematch instantly. That’s commendable. That’s real warrior stuff.”
Conor McGregor’s next fight
As Nate Diaz prepares for Jake Paul, it also appears like Conor McGregor’s UFC return is becoming more definite. Having just wrapped up the 31st season of the Ultimate Fighter which airs at the end of the month, the UFC has now come up with a rough timeline for McGregor’s comeback against Michael Chandler.
“There’s a fight,” UFC president Dana White said of McGregor vs. Chandler during Saturday’s post-fight scrum after UFC Vegas 73. “[McGregor] has to get into the USADA pool first. He’s filling out the paperwork.
“I don’t know how soon that will be done or what’s going on, but that’s his business that he’s handling with USADA. But it’s all in motion.
“Hopefully we have a big fight in Madison Square Garden in November, and then a big fight in December.”
McGregor said his lengthy battle with USADA has come to an end. He guarantees that his return will happen before the year ends.
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