Conor McGregor's Own Coach Tried to Talk Him Out of Rematch with Nate Diaz

Conor McGregor may want another crack at Nate Diaz, but those close to him don't share that sentiment. That's what UFC President Dana White suggests anyway, telling ESPN's SportsCenter that many pushed for him to lick his wounds and return to 145 pounds.

"After the fight, Lorenzo [Fertitta] and I went up to Conor's house that he's renting here in Las Vegas and started talking...And he was obsessed, obsessed with fighting Nate Diaz again," White said (h/t MMAJunkie.com for the transcription).

"Obviously, Lorenzo and I tried to argue with him and say, 'Let's go back down to '45 and defend your title, or if you really want the Diaz fight that bad, do it at '55.' But he wants to fight at 170. Even his coach, [John] Kavanagh, tried to get him to get off this rematch and off the 170-pound fight, but it’s what he wanted. And he’s going to get it."

ESPN's Brett Okamoto also referenced White's comments regarding his conversation with McGregor:

McGregor, of course, was defeated in surprising fashion at UFC 196. While the featherweight champion entered the event as a favorite, Diaz utilized his rangy boxing and excellent grappling to tag McGregor standing before forcing him to tap to a rear-naked choke in the second round of the fight. 

McGregor indicated he would like to defend his featherweight title in a rematch against Jose Aldo immediately after the fight, but MMAFighting.com's Ariel Helwani broke the news 12 days later that he would instead face Diaz at UFC 200.

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Luckily for Aldo, he will still get a spot at UFC 200.

"We'll make Frankie and Jose the interim title, and whoever wins that fight will fight Conor McGregor for the 145-pound title," White added. "Win, lose or draw in this fight against Nate Diaz, he will go in and fight either Jose or Frankie, whoever wins at [UFC] 200."

It's worth taking a grain of salt with those plans, of course. Should McGregor win at UFC 200, there's a strong chance he makes another run at Rafael Dos Anjos' lightweight title, or even Robbie Lawler's welterweight title.

Either way, McGregor will have the chance to exact revenge on Diaz on July 9.