Dana White will have ‘NO’ regrets if Conor McGregor never faces Nate Diaz in trilogy as MMA legend heads for UFC exit

By On Jul 31, 2022

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UFC president Dana White won’t lose any sleep if a trilogy fight between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz never comes to fruition.

A series decider between the pair is in serious danger of becoming a fight that got away as Diaz is on the verge of leaving mixed martial arts’ premier promotion.

Nate Diaz submitted Conor McGregor in their epic UFC 196 showdown in March 2016Credit: Getty

McGregor avenged his first UFC defeat a few months later and left fans wanting a trilogy fightCredit: GETTY

UFC boss Dana White won't lose any sleep if a rubber match doesn't come to fruition — UFC boss Dana White won’t lose any sleep if a rubber match doesn’t come to fruitionCredit: AP

Diehard fans are hoping McGregor and Diaz, 34 and 37 respectively, will eventually settle their rivalry – although the same can’t be said for White.

The 53-year-old said: “No, it’s not like, ‘Oh God, I never got the chance to make No.3. The first two [fights] were awesome, the first two were awesome.

“The first round; that first round with Conor and Nate in the first fight was insane.

“Conor was landing these crazy bombs and all this stuff then Diaz comes out in that second – it was madness.

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“And then the second fight was awesome. If it happens, it happens. But we got enough out of the first two. It was awesome.”

Fan favourites McGregor and Diaz took part in two of the most memorable fights in recent UFC history in 2016.

Diaz won the pair’s first meeting at UFC 196 via second-round submission on 11 days’ notice, with McGregor avenging his first octagon defeat a few months later at UFC 202 via majority decision.

Although nearly six years have passed since their epic rematch, White is in no rush to book a rubber match.

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He said: “That’s one of those fights you can do any time. But no, it never worked out that way.

“Listen, if you get two guys like Conor and Nate who want to fight each other bad enough, it ends up happening.”

Former lightweight title challenger Diaz is expected to leave the UFC after his September showdown with Khamzat Chimaev – the final fight of his contract with the promotion.

And according to White, the prospect of settling the score with McGregor isn’t on the mind of the Stockton slugger.

He said: “Conor’s not ready yet, Conor’s leg is not healed yet.

“Nate could obviously could stick around and wait for that but he doesn’t [want to].