Nate Diaz has agreed with a Conor McGregor super-fan who believes Khabib Nurmagomedov "ducked" a rematch between the pair when he retired in 2020.
The pair competed in 2018, with the Russian winning a dominant fight by way of fourth-round submission. The pair's feud had been marred by an ugly build-up that saw McGregor put behind bars in New York after attacking a bus full of fighters including his rival before an intense launch press conference.
And immediately after their fight the pair did not engage in the customary hug and sign of respect, with Nurmagomedov immediately jumping out of the cage to attack one of McGregor's cornermen. Since then, their feud has never simmered, although a rematch was never entertained by the Russian who is now retired from the sport.
After watching the new documentary on Netflix entitled 'McGregor Forever', self-styled 'super fan' McGregorRousey took to social media to joke that "After watching the new McGregor documentary I can confidently say that Khabib ducked the rematch." And commenting under a post sharing that sentiment, Nate Diaz responded: "Yes, Kabib's [sic] a p****".
Diaz has never been fond of Nurmagomedov, frequently doing down his impact as a lightweight champion over the years and insisting he was the superior fighter. His assertion was made despite never getting himself close to the title picture during the Russians reigns, and the pair never were close to fighting.
The famed California native has branded Nurmagomedov a "bully" in the past, telling ESPN in 2019: “I’m not into this bully s***, he’s into bullying and stuff, that’s his thing. When I ran into him and his team at the World Series of Fighting, I was standing there watching Jake, my friend, fight. And they took a group picture with me behind them, just to laugh at me, make fun of me.
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“[Khabib] is like, ‘Ah, come on, man’ and they’re all laughing, 12 Russian dudes. I slapped him in his face for making fun of me and I’m like, ‘What?’ And he didn’t do nothing. I was outside furious. So I waited for him to come out there and I went to get him again and he ran off. I shouldn’t have done that. It was reckless, it was stupid.
"I was mad, but he was picking on me. So now he’s trying to act like ‘Mr Make It Right’. ‘I’m Mr Good, this guy’s a piece of s***, I don’t need this trash talk’. Whatever, you were going to pick on me... trying to act like the victim, that Conor was picking on him."
Diaz is currently preparing for his boxing debut, where he will face Jake Paul this August in Texas. He and McGregor have been supportive of one another after their pair of fights in 2016, and both have a keen dislike for Nurmagomedov, who hung up the gloves in 2020 after his mother insisted that he retire following his father's death.
