Nate Diaz steadfastly insisted that he will only fight at UFC 200 if Conor McGregor is his opponent, writes Stephen Barry.
The Stockton fighter left UFC President Dana White in an awkward situation as he threatened to walk from UFC 200, unless the UFC relent and allow McGregor to fight.
Diaz insists that he continues to train in preparation for McGregor: “I’m coming here to fight, if we’re going to get that fight going. If not, I’m going on vacation, for real.
“I came to fight Conor McGregor. I don’t really have too much interest in anyone else.”
White remained unmoved during the press conference, defending the choice as “an unpopular decision but it’s the right decision”.
He insisted that the next fight for McGregor would be a defence of his featherweight title against the winners of Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar, adding that that fight would come before the UFC’s New York debut.
Meanwhile, McGregor himself tweeted why he thought he should be given some leeway: “Everyone flew in. Respect. But not everyone up there made the company 400million in 8 months.”
Everyone flew in. Respect.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 22, 2016
But not everyone up there made the company 400million in 8 months.
The tweet was brought up during the press conference, with Diaz returning to his usual trash-talking style.
But ultimately Diaz piled on the pressure for a McGregor rematch, saying he wanted the big-money fight and that he didn’t care if McGregor didn’t have to show up for some media duties.
“He’s got a lot of catching up to do so there ain’t no time for this shit,” said Diaz
“I’ve been dodging all this for years and I’ve been in trouble for it.
“So I understand, it’s all good. Let his do his thing, get his train on and get ready to fight.”
As it stands, however, White was equally steadfast in ruling out McGregor, citing the fairness of the situation.
