Nate Diaz believes Conor McGregor made the right call by pulling out of UFC 303.
McGregor hasn’t fought since breaking his leg during a trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier in July 2021, and he’s refusing to return unless he’s fully fit.
McGregor vs Chandler will be rebooked later this yearCredit: Getty
The Irishman was supposed to fight Michael Chandler on June 29, but he recently withdrew from his comeback bout after breaking his pinky toe in training.
UFC champions Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria mocked McGregor’s refusal to fight with a relatively minor injury, but ‘Notorious’ has found an ally in one of his biggest rivals.
“I think they made a bigger deal out of it than it is,” Diaz told MMA Junkie.
“Good idea. If I get f***ed up, I would like to push the fight back too, but people f***ing freak out.
“I think I wouldn’t want to fight until I’m 100 per cent ready to rock too, because in the past I’ve done all kinds of s*** I shouldn’t have done.
“So, I think he learned from experience and all these inexperienced people out there talking s***, just speaking for their inexperience.
“They’re going to have to deal with the criticism until the fight gets done, but I think it’ll happen, and it’ll all be good.”
McGregor believes he will be ready to return to the Octagon in August or September, but Dana White is unsure how he’ll squeeze his fight with Chandler into the jampacked UFC schedule.
McGregor still wants to fight this summerCredit: @thenotoriousmma – instagram
Some have mocked his withdrawal, but Diaz gets itCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Diaz is eyeing a return to MMA’s premier promotion after his boxing bout with fellow UFC veteran Jorge Masvidal on July 6.
A third fight with McGregor seems the most likely option as the long-time rivals are currently tied 1-1 after fighting twice eight years ago.
Diaz scored a famous upset win when he choked out McGregor at UFC 196 in March 2016, but he suffered a majority decision defeat when they rematched a few months later.
“Yeah, we’ll see what happens with time,” he added about facing McGregor again.
“It depends on what happens with my fight, his fight, UFC. I ain’t a fortune teller, you know what I’m saying? We’ll see what happens.”