Nate Diaz isn’t the kind of fighter to let an injury—no matter how big or small—stop him from stepping inside the cage.
On Saturday, July 6, the ‘Stockton Samurai’ will make his second walk to the boxing ring after coming up short in his professional debut against YouTube star Jake Paul last August. This time, Diaz will face someone much more familiar—Jorge Masvidal.
The two ex-UFC icons will strap on the eight-ounce gloves for a clash inside the Honda Center in Anaheim, running back their classic BMF battle from UFC 244 in November 2019. On that night, ‘Gamebred’ came out on top following a doctor’s stoppage at the end of round three.
Recently, Diaz spoke with P4P great Demetrious Johnson on his MIGHTYcast podcast to discuss his rematch with Masvidal. During their conversation, the TUF alumnus revealed that he had gone into their inaugural bout inside the Octagon with a torn meniscus, making it very difficult for him to walk, let alone fight.
“I was f*cked up when I fought Masvidal. I tore my meniscus two weeks before I fought him and I couldn’t even f*cking hardly walk in the fight,” Diaz revealed. “I didn’t even know I tore my meniscus. I found that out after. But, I was training and I was like, dude, I could hardly even walk. And I was like, hell no, we’re going here. It was Madison Square Garden, headlining, and f*cking Donald Trump came through. Think that was the first president ever been at UFC. I’m like, yeah right, I’m going to that fight.”
Even when dealing with an injury, Diaz prefers to keep training and pushing his body, suggesting that things only tend to get worse if he strays from the plan, including a very specific recovery regimen.
“I just keep training,” Diaz said. “I train all the done when I get done with fights. If I stop training, I get more f*cked up than if I do train so I just keep training and doing my recovery workouts—ice bath and sauna. That’s my main sh*t.”
Nate Diaz Says Trilogy Fight with Conor McGregor is ‘100%’ Happening
Though the fight with Masivdal was one of Nate Diaz’s more memorable battles inside the Octagon, it’s his two fights against Irish megastar Conor McGregor that tend to stand out to fans of the sport. Squaring off in back-to-back meetings between March and August of 2016, Diaz and McGregor split things right down the middle with the Stockton native taking the first fight via a second-round RNC while McGregor saw his hand raised in the sequel, winning a majority decision.
For years, fans have been clamoring for a trilogy—something Diaz assures us is still on his to-do list.
“Yeah, we’re fighting a third time,” Diaz said. “The second one wasn’t fair. That’s 100%. I’m fighting all these motherf*ckers again if they don’t all fall off and retire. Everybody’s leaving.”
Real war pic.twitter.com/mBhGYmvchi
— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) January 27, 2024
It’s been nearly three years since McGregor last stepped inside the Octagon. He was originally scheduled to make his triumphant return to the cage at UFC 303 on Saturday night to headline the card opposite former Bellator MMA champion ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler. Unfortunately, that fight was postponed after McGregor broke his pinky toe while training.
Once McGregor disclosed the injury, he drew the ire of fighters and fans alike who slammed ‘Mystic Mac’ for bowing out of a fight because of a fairly minor injury.
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Diaz commended McGregor’s decision to delay the fight. Asked why he chose to support the Irishman, Diaz said:
“That’s experience. He was f*cked up when he fought his last fight [against Dustin Poirier] and I’ve been f*cked up in hella fights. I don’t like to cry about it afterward because you shouldn’t have come to fight if you’re f*cked up. That’s how I think about it. You shouldn’t have showed up.
“All the inexperienced people are talking sh*t, but the experienced people don’t give a f*ck. I feel the same way. The [fight] got pushed back. It didn’t get canceled. He bossed up on that and said we’re gonna fight in a few months and everybody’s criticizing him for pulling out. The ball’s in his court. Conor is the show.”
Watch the full interview below:
