"I'd be shocked if that fight didn't happen" - Dana White on Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 3
UFC president Dana White has said he'd be surprised if the trilogy fight between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz doesn't happen.
Way back in 2016, Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz met in what proved to be an incredibly high-profile two-fight series at UFC 196 and then UFC 202.
The first contest was won by Diaz in what many called one of the upsets of the year. Then, just months later, McGregor managed to edge past Diaz with a nice decision win to even the series up at 1-1.
Ever since UFC 202, we've all been waiting and wondering to see when the promotion will finally book the third, and likely final, fight between these two warriors.
Now, all these years later, Dana White has made it clear that there's a good chance we'll see it go down before one of the two men retires from mixed martial arts. During an interview with TMZ Sports, he said:
“I wouldn’t count out a Conor/Nate 3… Listen, I’d be shocked if that fight didn’t happen again... He’s chomping at the bit to come back [McGregor]. Realistically, when you look at everything that he’s got going on right now with coming back, and other things that need to be done to get ready to prepare again, it’s probably early fall.”
Catch the full interview below:
When did Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor last compete?
Nate Diaz last stepped foot into the octagon back in June 2021 when he collided with Leon Edwards. Despite losing four out of five rounds at UFC 263, Diaz rallied and actually came close to finishing Edwards in the final minutes of the bout.
By comparison, the last few outings for McGregor haven't been quite as glorious - although they've certainly been dramatic.
The Irishman lost back-to-back fights against Dustin Poirier in 2021, both by finish, with the latter of the two being the main reason why we haven't seen him back in the cage since then.
That's because Conor suffered a broken leg at UFC 264 that he's still recovering from, although he did note recently that he expects to be back in sparring next month.