Nate Diaz Wants Conor McGregor UFC Fight, Eyes Canelo Alvarez or Crawford in Boxing

UFC legend Nate Diaz is still holding out hope that he and Conor McGregor will be able to complete their trilogy.

It's been nearly a decade since Diaz shocked the world when he handed McGregor his first UFC loss at UFC 196 in 2016, memorably delivering the one-liner, "I’m not surprised, motherf--kers" after his win.

McGregor avenged the loss by earning a majority-decision victory five months later.

Per Jed Meshew of MMA Fighting, Diaz said during an appearance on Out Cold that he would welcome the opportunity to run it back against the Irishman to settle the score.

"If I could fight anybody right now, I would fight — with all due respect to them — if Conor McGregor came back. S--t, Conor McGregor," Diaz said. "There ain’t nobody else to fight, really, right now. I would like for him to come back and impress everybody first. Not that he needs to, but it would be great to see him back. Everybody’s hating on him. I’d like to beat up somebody on top of the world, and I think he’s got the capability to do that."

McGregor hasn't fought since suffering a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier in their trilogy fight at UFC 264 in July 2021. He was scheduled to return last summer against Michael Chandler at UFC 303, but he withdrew from the fight due to a toe injury, and the bout was never rescheduled.

Diaz last fought in MMA in 2022 when he ended his UFC career with a loss to Tony Ferguson in the final fight of his contract. He's tried his hand at boxing, losing to Jake Paul in 2023 and defeating Jorge Masvidal via majority decision in 2024. If the fight against McGregor doesn't come to fruition, he had a few big names in mind for whom he'd like to face in the Octagon or the boxing ring.

"Then that little Ilia Topuria, he’s doing a really good job," Diaz said, referring to the newly crowned UFC lightweight champion. "He’s a little small for me, but those two are probably the best fights.

"And then on the boxing side, obviously Canelo [Alvarez] or [Terence] Crawford," he continued. "I ain’t asking for nothing, but when I whoop someone’s ass, I’m gonna get them motherf--kers, too. With all due respect. So that’s my plan."