Nate Diaz has been left surprised by Mike Tyson's "dead" praise of Conor McGregor 's performance against Floyd Mayweather.
UFC superstar McGregor stepped into the ring with boxing legend Mayweather in 2017, i n what turned out to be the second highest-selling combat sports pay-per-view of all-time. His first appearance in the squared circle was brought to a halt in the tenth round with Mayweather putting his foot on the gas to close the show.
Despite many suggesting Mayweather deliberately held up his rival to provide entertainment for the fans, boxing legend Tyson was impressed with McGregor's debut in the ring. “[McGregor] never really had a boxing match in his life right?” Tyson said in an episode of his HotBoxin' podcast. “He went 10 rounds with the greatest fighter in the last 100 years of boxing.
“He went 10 rounds, scored punches on the greatest fighter in the last 20 years — 100 years. See, people ain’t looking at it. People just wanna say ‘The Black guy beat the White guy.’ They just want to see it. But look at what he had to fight against. And look at what he did when he fought against it.”
McGregor's meeting with Mayweather came just one year after the 34-year-old touched gloves with bitter rival Diaz in the cage, where he lost their first meeting by submission before outpointing the Stockton native in their rematch. And the American has pointed out the brutal nature of his stoppage win in comparison to Mayweather's finish in the 10th stanza.
He tweeted while tagging the heavyweight legend: “I took him all the way out in about eight minutes right before that. What does that tell you? Finished, dead.” Diaz shared an epic rivalry with McGregor which certainly gripped UFC fans, and the pair have been linked with a trilogy bout ever since.
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However a third fight seems unlikely in the near future given Diaz left the UFC after beating Tony Ferguson last September. McGregor himself is currently focused on his own UFC comeback when he will take on Michael Chandler and has two fights remaining on his current deal.
However UFC legend Chael Sonnen has suggested Diaz could still yet make a U-turn and pursue a third meeting with McGregor. "What I’m trying to say is all options are on the table," he said on the MMA Hour. "But that option is also to return to the UFC and to fight Conor McGregor.
"He would not just be coming back. There would be a brand new and fresh conversation to be had and I think he wants to have that conversation. Yeah, I think it’s leading the way. I don't think he's going off to box Floyd [Mayweather], I don't know how much legs there is to Jake Paul, I realise there is something there to both, but what about his own promotion?"
