Why Nate Diaz refused to be Conor McGregor’s UFC comeback fight
Nate Diaz has never been shy about saying no, and ahead of his Mike Perry fight under the MVP banner on Netflix he explained why he turned down the chance to be Conor McGregor’s comeback opponent in the UFC.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani in fight week media, Diaz said the promotion wanted to plug him straight back into its plans for McGregor’s long‑discussed return, but the matchup did not appeal on those terms. Diaz had been in talks about a UFC return after his 2022 exit from the roster, yet ultimately chose to stay outside the company and box and fight under his own banner instead.
Why Nate Diaz turned down the chance to be Conor McGregor’s return opponent
In the interview, Diaz laid out his thinking in clear terms, saying he did not want to be used as the B‑side in a rehabilitation story for his old rival. As he put it:
“I know that [the UFC] wanted the Conor fight right now… and I’m like, I’m not trying to be a comeback story for Conor. I want Conor back, and then I want him to be fucking showing people he’s whipping ass. Then that’s the guy I want. I don’t wanna be fighting a guy that they don’t know about, because I know he’s gonna come back and do good. I don’t need him to do it on me.”
Those comments land in the middle of a fresh wave of McGregor comeback talk. Dana White has said in recent days that McGregor is expected to compete this summer, with July’s International Fight Week card and a possible headliner slot at UFC 329 among the options being discussed. McGregor has not fought since he broke his leg in the trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021, and at 37 he is trying to time his return carefully after multiple delays and public back‑and‑forth over opponents.
Diaz, by contrast, has kept moving. After submitting McGregor at UFC 196 and dropping the rematch at UFC 202, he closed his original UFC run with a win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 279 in September 2022 before testing free agency. Since then he has headlined a pay‑per‑view boxing match with Jake Paul in August 2023 and now fronts the MVP MMA event against former BKFC champion Mike Perry in a bout streamed globally on Netflix, giving him leverage and visibility outside the UFC machine.
Within that context, his refusal to serve as McGregor’s launch pad fits the long‑running dynamic between the two. Diaz still wants a third fight but on terms where McGregor has already proved himself against others first, so their trilogy feels like a clash between two active, winning names rather than a tune‑up for a star coming off a layoff.
