The UFC doesn't come short when it comes to trilogies. So far, there are 12 epic trilogies that pitted gladiators like Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos, Randy Couture, Matt Hughes and Gray Maynard to fight the same opponent thrice. But what about Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor? Both warriors had already fought each other twice and each has a win under their belt. Is the rivalry good enough to produce a third and last meeting?
Nate Diaz thinks that the UFC doesn't want him to face Conor McGregor for the third time inside the Octagon. ESPN's interview with Diaz exposed that the fighter went to see UFC 205 as a spectator, and "not at the UFC's request." Instead, Diaz asked UFC President Dana White for tickets, "but he was told there wasn't room."
As soon as McGregor won the lightweight belt by defeating Eddie Alvarez, Diaz, who watched the fight "from a club box at Madison Square Garden" said that hundreds of people turned around and stared at him. It's like the crowd was waiting for Diaz to challenge McGregor for the belt.
Unfortunately, it wasn't the case. After winning the second fight, McGregor said that he would fight Diaz at 155 pounds, but the latter thinks that it's a longshot since "the UFC knows that's a bad idea for him (McGregor)." Diaz even questioned why he and his brother Nick wasn't given any tickets for UFC 205. "I said, 'I'll leave him along. I don't want to fight the guy. Just let me get a seat", he added.
Nate Diaz can match McGregor's wit, charisma and infamy on and off the Octagon. A third fight, if it is indeed possible, may very well go down in the UFC history books as one of the highest rated pay-per-view matches in mixed martial arts. For now, Diaz's only focus is for the third installment to push through, but he's not in a hurry.
"I'm not begging for it. If anybody should be asking for the fight, it should be him. He's the one that has something to prove," said Diaz as he congratulated "The Notorious" for his recent victory. He lauded McGregor for doing a great job, "got the two belts", but it still boils down to a third Diaz-McGregor showdown.
