Chael Sonnen assesses why Nate Diaz is willing to pass up a money fight with Conor McGregor

Chael Sonnen (left), Conor McGregor (center) & Nate Diaz (right)

Chael Sonnen recently offered his take on Nate Diaz's reluctance to accept a fight against Conor McGregor.

In a recent interaction with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Diaz revealed that he had no interest in locking horns with Conor McGregor inside the octagon for their trilogy fight.

The Stockton native, who has only one fight left on his contract, asserted that the UFC was adamant about setting up a fight between the two, thereby prolonging his stay with the promotion.

Watch a segment of Diaz's interaction with Ariel Helwani below:

.@NateDiaz209 shoots down the idea of Conor McGregor being his next fight 👀 #TheMMAHour

"Our timelines aren’t matching up... I’m not fighting you right now. I’m supposed to bring you back to life before I go?"

▶️ youtu.be/Zqyee9QZXm0 https://t.co/ZMvgclrkYB

In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sonnen assessed the reason behind Diaz's reluctance to fight McGregor. Apart from the issue of Diaz having to wait for McGregor to recover completely, the former UFC middleweight hypothesized that a fight against Jake Paul could play a role in his decision.

However, 'The American Gangster' admitted that Diaz's secretive nature when it came to his future in combat sports made it impossible for anyone to know the exact reason behind his decision:

"Nate said, 'I'm refusing to fight Conor for one reason, which is the timelines don't match up. I want to get this over and I want to get this done. I want to be free. I don't even know when Conor's going to come back.' Surprised me just a little bit. I get the point of Nate trying to expedite things... I'm not sure that we've got this right. I'm not sure this is just about money. I'm not sure this is just about boxing and I'm not sure how Jake paul plays into the whole thing."

Check out Chael Sonnen's take on Nate Diaz's future in the UFC:

Nate Diaz reveals when he wanted to return to action after his last fight

In his recent interaction with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Nate Diaz offered fans some insight into the ideal timeline for a return that he had in mind. He admitted that he was hoping to make a quick turnaround after his last fight to return to the octagon in a matter of four months.

Diaz last featured inside the octagon in a fight against Leon Edwards at UFC 263 in June 2021 at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona. The 37-year-old suffered a unanimous decision loss in the welterweight bout against Edwards.

Although Diaz hoped to make a prompt comeback to the octagon after his fight against Edwards, he has since been sidelined by the UFC. His return to the cage is a matter that still remains shrouded in mystery and intrigue.

Here's what Nate Diaz had to say when asked about his return following his fight with Leon Edwards:

"Probably four months after that would have been good... I wouldn't even be healing if I [didn't] have a cut. But probably four months, I would've been good to go."

Check out Nate Diaz's full interaction with Ariel Helwani below: