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3 Reasons Why Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 3 Could Happen Outside UFC

Published 03/21/2024, 5:31 AM EDT

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The speculations surrounding the date behind Conor McGregor making his comeback have been one of the biggest topics of discussion since his last fight in 2021. ‘The Notorious’ has named many fighters that he plans to fight against, including Nate Diaz. McGregor is looking for a third fight against the Stockton native, but it seems like that fight may not take place in the UFC.

Most UFC fans know how big the rivalry between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz was back in the mid-2010s. The pair faced off twice and on both occasions, their fights turned out to be two of the highest-grossing fights in the history of the UFC. As such, McGregor has been asking for a trilogy fight against Diaz, a fight that even his former rival wants. However, it seems unlikely that the Irishman will get to see himself in the Octagon opposite Diaz since he doesn’t have many fights left in his deal.

Conor McGregor is nearing the end of his UFC contract

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The initial plan for Conor McGregor’s comeback was to have him fight Michael Chandler. As per Dana White, that is still the plan. However, Conor McGregor recently revealed during an interview ahead of the release of ‘Road House‘ that he only had a couple of fights left in his current UFC contract.

 

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Further, Nate Diaz is currently not in the UFC, which makes it more difficult to make the fight happen under the UFC banner. Additionally, Conor McGregor hinted to Ariel Helwani during a recent appearance on ‘The MMA Hour‘ that if the UFC left him no choice, he may have to part ways with the promotion. As such, despite his interest in fighting Diaz in the UFC, he may just fight him without the bright lights of Dana White’s promotion.

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“Surely, nobody brings the figures I bring. Ever. You see, all of these things will, I’m sure, work out and be ironed out with my management stable, Paradigm Sports, in my next phase of relations or next deal,” the Irishman added. He even garnered support from his former rival in his struggle with the UFC. Meanwhile, another reason why Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor 3 seems unlikely to happen in the UFC is because of the former’s interest in boxing.

Nate Diaz has ventured into boxing

A few months ago, Nate Diaz surprised everyone by taking on YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in his first fight since leaving the UFC, and his first professional boxing match. Although he lost to ‘The Problem Child’, he pocketed a fat paycheck and has since developed an interest in boxing. Furthermore, Diaz is now going to compete in his second boxing match on June 1.

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Retired UFC star Jorge Masvidal ventured into putting on fights for his promotion, Gamebred Fighting Championship. But recently, he revealed he was lacing up his gloves again for an upcoming boxing match against Nate Diaz. Given that many MMA fighters have been getting into the squared circle as of late, Conor McGregor also seems interested in boxing again.

Conor McGregor has ideas for competing in the boxing ring again

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Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather in 2017 was the biggest fight in combat sports history. Hence, there is no reason why he cannot replicate another financially successful outing inside the squared circle. As people keep speculating about his UFC return, McGregor mentioned wanting to fight Manny Pacquiao in a boxing match. He believes it could be as big of a fight as he had against Mayweather.

Furthermore, the former UFC double champion also seems to have grown fond of the influencer boxing scene. After his former rival Nate Diaz fought Jake Paul, Conor McGregor expressed an interest in fighting the YouTube star’s rival, KSI, in a boxing match. While the British YouTube superstar hasn’t yet agreed to fight ‘The Notorious’, we cannot count out the possibility of it taking place in the future.

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It seems that Conor McGregor has a lot of options in his hands. Nevertheless, he continues to maintain his stance on wanting to return to UFC and fight out his contract. But will he be able to strike a deal with the UFC for a third Nate Diaz fight?

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Written by:

Himanga Mahanta

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Himanga Mahanta is a senior UFC writer at EssentiallySports. An all-rounder in his coverage of the sport, Himanga is a reliable voice with a knack for providing analytical coverage of breaking stories from the world of MMA. His 1700+ articles include perspective pieces on trending UFC stories, and both live and post-event coverage of weekly events.
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Edited by:

Yeswanth Praveen