Diaz prefers shot at BMF title over ‘trying to kill off’ McGregor

• Brett OkamotoMar 31, 2026, 12:42 PM ET

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  Brett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was also a producer on the 30 for 30 film: “Chuck and Tito,” which looked back at the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer in his spare time.

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Nate Diaz would like to eventually return to the UFC, but only under his terms and only for the right fight — which, for now, does not include a trilogy against Conor McGregor.

Diaz (21-13) is scheduled to face Mike Perry (14-8) in a mixed martial arts bout on the MVP MMA: Rhonda Rousey vs. Gina Carano event on Netflix on May 16.

In a recent appearance on “This Past Weekend w/Theo Von,” Diaz revealed he fielded offers from the UFC before signing with Most Valuable Promotions, but those offers did not align with his goals.

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“I want to go back to the UFC,” Diaz said. “I have bigger offers from the UFC than I got from [MVP and Netflix], but the offers weren’t the opponents. I believe everything about the fight game is timing, and right now, if I went back to the UFC, I wouldn’t be fighting the fighters I want to be fighting. I want to fight the best of the best.

“If I went back to the UFC, they want me to fight Conor McGregor right now … I want to fight the best of the best, when they are the best. Conor is great, but I’m not trying to kill off Conor when he’s on his last dying leg, literally.”

Diaz, 40, went on to say his top choice for an opponent would be former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira, who earlier this month won the UFC’s BMF title by defeating Max Holloway in a five-round decision at UFC 326. Diaz was responsible for creating the BMF belt in MMA in 2019, when he was involved in the inaugural BMF title fight against Jorge Masvidal.

McGregor (22-6) hasn’t fought since he suffered a broken leg in a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier in 2021. He and Diaz were involved in one of the greatest rivalries in MMA history in 2016, when they split two fights that took place in the span of six months. A trilogy fight has always felt somewhat inevitable, even after McGregor’s injury and Diaz’s departure from the UFC in 2022. McGregor has expressed interest in returning to competition later this year, possibly as soon as July. For now, a potential trilogy will continue to wait.

“I’m not trying to be the end of some f—er’s story like that,” Diaz said. “I’m not trying to finish this dude off, and that’s what I would plan on doing if we fought. And at the same time, I’m not trying to get f—ed up by nobody who just got knocked out, broke his leg and now is nothing but motivated to fight me.”