MMA analyst John McCarthy has clarified his previous comments regarding a match-up between Nick Diaz and Kamaru Usman.

Over the course of the last few decades, ‘Big’ John McCarthy has served as one of the most recognisable faces in all of mixed martial arts. He spent many years as a referee, most notably under the UFC umbrella, and was therefore part of many iconic moments throughout the history of the sport.

After walking away from his referee post, McCarthy signed a deal with Bellator to join their commentary team. In addition, he also hosts a podcast alongside Josh Thomson.

In a recent episode he implied that if Kamaru Usman were to fight Nick Diaz, there’s a chance he could get “lit up” on the feet. Now, he’s decided to run it back and clarify those remarks.

“I don’t think that Nick should be put in against Kamaru. I don’t think that’s the fight. And very simply put, I even said back then, Kamaru wins that fight. What I should’ve said is if Kamaru will start standing up with him, and if he starts to get lit up, he’s going to go right to his wrestling.”

“The ‘if’ should’ve been put in there. I wasn’t saying that he was gonna get lit up. I was saying, you know, don’t take anything from Nick Diaz in the stand-up game. He will cause anyone problems.”

Quotes via Sportskeeda

The idea of seeing Nick Diaz go head to head with Kamaru Usman isn’t exactly going to be very popular, and even McCarthy knows that. Still, there’s definitely a method to the madness in his line of thinking, and it’s always interesting to speculate over what’s going to come next for either of the Diaz brothers – especially Nick, considering how inactive he’s been in recent times.