The hype train for Conor McGregor-Nate Diaz III is picking up steam.
As both fighters begin angling for a trilogy fight that would give them their best opportunity to make the most money in the UFC, Diaz slammed his rival on social media.
Diaz took issue with an Instagram post on the UFC’s official account that followed the Irish superstar’s TKO defeat against Floyd Mayweather in the boxing ring.
“I never lose,” the post read. “Either I win or I learn.”
But Diaz joined a chorus of voices, which also included middleweight champion Michael Bisping, in pointing to McGregor’s growing habit of losing fights through poor conditioning.
The UFC lightweight champion ran out of steam before being submitted by Diaz in their first meeting and looked completely drained less than halfway through his fight against Mayweather.
“He punched himself out the same way he lost in the UFC there was no learning goin’ on,” Diaz wrote. “Bulls–t get off the nuts this the s–t I’m talking about. Bruce Lee would’ve never lost like that.”
McGregor indicated Diaz is very much on his radar in the wake of his boxing defeat, and his striking coach, Owen Roddy, is also hoping the Stockton native is their next opponent.
Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee, who meet for the interim lightweight title at UFC 216 next month, are hoping to position themselves for the next shot. But UFC president Dana White has a track record of making allowances for what McGregor wants.
“I would probably like to see Diaz III, but obviously you’ve got Ferguson and Lee fighting for the interim belt,” Roddy told the MMA Hour. “If he’s to fight MMA again, it will probably have to be the winner of [Ferguson-Lee].
“The reason I say Diaz is because those fights are so exciting. The build up is so exciting, the back and forth. … There is nothing like it. It’s just a mad scene. The two fights against Diaz were probably the most exciting camps that I’ve been part of. To do that again would be unbelievable. As I see it, the fans would like that over everything else.”
Roddy, who became the key voice in McGregor’s camp when he pursued a boxing fight, also name-dropped Australian boxer Jeff Horn.
“If I was to pick MMA, I would definitely like to see the Diaz fight. Boxing, who knows?” Roddy said.
“I saw today that there was talk about him fighting in Australia against the lad that beat [Manny] Pacquiao — Jeff Horn. Who knows? It’s an unbelievable spectacle whatever Conor does, so I don’t know. I like the idea of the Diaz fight, but I’m sure if it doesn’t happen next, I’m sure it’s down the line.”