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Nate Diaz Rips Conor McGregor, Says He's 'Not Interested' in UFC Trilogy Fight

Timothy Rapp

Nate Diaz doesn't want anything to do with Conor McGregor or a trilogy matchup after the two MMA fighters split their first two fights.

"I'm not interested in it at all," he told ESPN.com's Ariel Helwani on Monday, per Greg Rosenstein of ESPN.com. "I'm interested in winners. He lost his last fight, and I won my last fight. You think I'm trying to fight someone who just got his ass beat all over the place? I'm a black belt in jiu-jitsu. That s--t wouldn't happen to me."

Diaz won the first fight between the pair at UFC 196 in March 2016 by a rear-naked choke submission in the second round. McGregor won the rematch by majority decision at UFC 202 that August.

Diaz, however, has never agreed with the judges' decision in that fight:

"[The UFC] were dissing me, saying I f--king turned down fights. I was like, 'Dude, what are you talking about?' You're giving this guy the world, and you're putting this guy down. That's why I haven't been fighting. Why would I work for you while you're over here playing me?

"Three years went by and then they start expecting me to start screaming for f--king Conor as soon as he loses? Nah, dude, I won that last fight. I'll fight Khabib [Nurmagomedov]. Then Khabib is playing like I have to win something to get to him. I'm like, 'What are you talking about, dude. You have to win to get to me. I slapped you.'"

Diaz hasn't fought in the UFC since that loss to McGregor. The Irishman beat Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in November 2016, lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in an August 2017 boxing match and was dominated by Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 last October, losing to a fourth-round submission in one of the most highly anticipated and hyped fights in UFC history.

He also said he's over the lightweight division.

"That's in the past," he noted. "I think it's time to fight at a more comfortable weight class. There's nothing for me there. I already did everything, beat everybody. I feel I'm the king of that division anyway. I mean, I am the king of that division."

That's debatable. He was 11-6 as a lightweight and 2-3 in his last five fights in the 145-pound division. Nurmagomedov, who has won 10 straight fights in the UFC, is the lightweight champ. Diaz, meanwhile, hasn't fought in nearly three years.

But one thing is certain—the time away from the Octagon hasn't dampened his confidence.

   

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