The only man to ever knock out Nate Diaz came to the Stockton slugger’s defense in Diaz’s pursuit for a third fight with Conor McGregor. Josh Thomson spoke exclusively on BJPENN.com’s Rapid Fire and broke down why Conor got a rematch against Nate at UFC 202, and why Nate probably won’t be getting his rematch against Conor.
“I saw it coming from a mile away. I thought Nate was gonna beat him again. If Nate had lost the first fight, they wouldn’t have given him the rematch with Conor. Which is crap for Nate. Everyone wants to see who wins best 2 out of 3. Both fights were entertaining fights. Now they’re moving Conor along to someone else because he got the win last time.”
Thomson explained why the UFC was most likely unwilling to give Nate a trilogy bout with Conor:
“You can’t control Nate Diaz, and that’s why everyone loves to watch him. Nate won’t do whatever they (the UFC) say. Conor will jump through hoops for the right money. Nate, not so much.”
The former Strikeforce lightweight champion continued by stating that he feels the UFC “screwed” Nate:
“I feel like they screwed Nate. Like I feel like they said ‘Conor got the win, let’s move on. He got the win over Nate, we will move Nate back down (financially) to what he was making before’.”
“Now the (UFC) is giving Conor Eddie (Alvarez), and if Eddie beats Conor, Conor will get an immediate rematch until he beats him.”
With talks of McGregor fighting newly crowned lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205, Thomson believes Diaz is most likely in the rear-view mirror for the brash Irishman.
Do you agree with Josh Thomson that Nate Diaz was ‘screwed’ by the UFC? Do you feel Diaz deserves a third fight with McGregor? Sound off, PENN Nation!