UFC News: Nate Diaz explains three-year hiatus ahead of his return
Prior to his highly awaited return to the Octagon at UFC 241, Nate Diaz recently sat down for an interview with ESPN.
During the conversation, the Stockton based fighter explained his three-year hiatus from the promotion, claiming that he felt that his UFC 202 fight against Conor McGregor should've gone the other way around and the judges definitely should've given the win to Diaz.
At UFC 196, Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor faced each other for the very first time after Diaz had called out The Notorious One in 2015 after picking up a win over Michael Johnson in his return fight.
Replacing Rafael Dos Anjos at Welterweight, Diaz faced the former Featherweight Champion and eventually handed McGregor his first loss in the Octagon after making the latter tap out in the second round of their fight.
At UFC 202, Diaz and McGregor once again collided in a rematch at Welterweight and this time, the two fighters went the distance with the Irishman winning the contest via split decision.
While speaking with ESPN recently, Nate Diaz cleared the air about his three-year hiatus with the UFC, as he stated that he clearly felt that he had won his last fight in the Octagon against McGregor. Diaz added that throughout the years he has lost a lot of fights which he felt that he didn't even lose in the first place. (H/T: MMA Mania)
“It was just—I felt like I won my last fight. I’m not gonna cry over spilt milk, it’s just what it is, especially in this UFC game because I’ve lost a lot of fights that I didn’t lose and even if, let’s just say more so than I think like, I for sure didn’t lose that fight. They treated it like, ‘You lost, go down the list. Get outta here’ type of thing. When [McGregor] lost the first time to me, it was the biggest thing, and he needed his rematch and he’s obsessed with Nate and all this marketing towards how much he needs to get this back and how great he is for actually jumping in there and doing it.
Nate Diaz will be returning to the Octagon this weekend in the co-main event of UFC 241 against Anthony Pettis.