Nate
Diaz wanted a shot at the
UFC belt he helped name.
The UFC’s BMF belt was originally Diaz’s idea, although he fell
short against Jorge
Masvidal in the inaugural BMF title fight in 2019. Meanwhile,
the belt is currently held by Charles
Oliveira (37-11), who won it against Max
Holloway at UFC 326 last month. Diaz recently went off on
Oliveira over a past callout. Oliveira shut down Diaz’s callout
after winning the lightweight title in 2021, citing his preference
for bigger, championship fights. However, “Do Bronx” surprised
everyone, including Diaz, by subsequently calling out Conor
McGregor, who had just suffered a leg injury.
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“This fool is walking around with my title,” Diaz told Theo Von. “This fool actually won the
title one time, and I said I’ll fight Oliveira, I know I’ll beat
Oliveira. And then Oliveira’s like, ‘No thanks, homie, I’ll try to
fight for big stuff, world championships.’… And then few months
later, after Conor breaks his leg, this fool’s like, ‘I’ll fight
Conor
McGregor.’ I thought you wanted bigger and better things,
you’re picking on people who are on the downfall.”
A More Intriguing Option
Diaz (21-13) parted ways with the UFC with a submission win over
Tony
Ferguson in 2022, while always leaving the door open for a
potential return to the promotion. Diaz claims he had recently been
in negotiations with the UFC about a return. The UFC allegedly
wanted Diaz to return in a rubber matchup against Conor
McGregor, who hasn’t fought since breaking his leg. However,
Diaz wanted a shot at Oliveira’s BMF belt. When the UFC hesitated,
Diaz chose his other option, a booking against Mike Perry
on a Netflix MMA card on May 16 Intuit Dome in Los Angeles,
California.
“I believe they wanted me to come back and fight Conor
McGregor, not Oliveira,’ Diaz said.”I’m gonna fight for my belt
that I created, that I deserved… And they’re like, ‘We want you to
come back, and maybe later…’ I’m like, ‘OK, well, you know who’s
doing a good job? With almost close to the same amount of offer –
Mike
Perry’… I’m a lot more enthusiastic to get ready and train for
this motherf—-er who’s gonna knock me out or I’m gonna knock his
ass out.”