Nate Diaz says UFC matchmaker Joe Silva told him Conor McGregor bout “is on” after UFC on Fox 17 win

By Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Nate Diaz is under the impression that he’s getting Conor McGregor next.

Following his win over Michael Johnson at UFC on Fox 17 Saturday night, Diaz said he spoke with UFC matchmaker Joe Silva, who allegedly told him that fight’s coming.

“[Silva] said [the McGregor fight] is on, we’re going to do this,” Diaz said in an interview with MMAFighting.com after the event (transcribed by BloodyElbow.com). “Hell yeah, they want it. Everybody wants that fight. It’s what they want.

“If people want to see a real fight, they know who to call. I’ll train hard and ninja his ass up. Ninja real shit, not no funny fake ‘let’s fight, but let’s be good friends, it’s a sport’ — F*** that, f*** the sport. This is fight shit. This is ninja shit. That’s what people want to see.”

Diaz’s win over Johnson bounced him back from a loss last December to current UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos. He believes he’s the money fight for McGregor out of all potential options, making that point clear on numerous occasions this past week.

Penick’s Analysis: It’s entirely possible the UFC is considering it as an option, but I can’t believe McGregor is actually going to be fighting Diaz next. It’s certainly a fight that could sell, and the banter between the two of them would be stellar, but it’s just not the likeliest fight to be made. McGregor wants to hold titles, and I don’t think the UFC is going to hold up the featherweight division to have him take a non-title bout with Diaz.

[Photo (c) Mark J. Rebilas via USA Today Sports]

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