Conor McGregor reacts to Nate Diaz gracing BKFC KnuckleMania 4
Nate Diaz was in attendance for BKFC KnuckleMania 4, and his presence drew a reaction from his old rival, Conor McGregor. The Irishman took to his Instagram stories to share a clip of the Stockton legend's arrival to the arena. Despite McGregor also being present at the event, they don't appear to have interacted.
Instead, 'The Notorious' merely acknowledged Diaz's presence with a curious Instagram story, in which he said nothing directly to the man himself. He captioned the story with nothing more than the pay-per-view price to be paid for those tuning in to watch BKFC KnuckleMania 4.
The Instagram story was likely a promotional stunt on McGregor's part, as he has recently been revealed as a part-owner of BKFC. His company, McGregor Sports and Entertainment, owns a minority stake in the promotion. Captioning the story, 'The Notorious' said:
"PPV $29.99"
Diaz has also somewhat mirrored his rival's expansion into the business side of things. However, the former 'BMF' claimant has kept his interests squarely on combat sports.
Diaz founded a combat sports promotion called Real Fight Inc., which will co-promote his upcoming boxing match with another one of his rivals, Jorge Masvidal, alongside the latter's Gamebred Boxing Promotions.
The boxing match is a spiritual rematch of their first-ever encounter, which took place under MMA rules in the UFC. Their bout was contested for the original 'BMF' championship, which saw Masvidal capture it via a controversial TKO due to a doctor stoppage in round three.
The two men have had numerous back-and-forth exchanges on social media since then, and will finally settle their differences in a boxing match.
Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor made history at UFC 202
The source of Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor's rivalry is a now legendary callout from the Stockton legend at UFC on Fox 17. After dominating Michael Johnson, he used his post-fight interview to call out McGregor, claiming that the latter was taking everything he had ever worked to achieve.
When Rafael dos Anjos withdrew from a UFC 196 lightweight title fight with the Irishman, Diaz stepped in on short-notice to choke McGregor out in round two.
This setup a blockbuster rematch at UFC 202, which became the second highest-selling PPV in UFC history, and the only event to have a title fight in the co-main event, while a non-title fight was the main event.
Both men went to war, and the bout was defined by countless momentum shifts. But ultimately, McGregor won via majority decision. While their last fight was in 2016, there has been endless talk about a trilogy bout ever since.