Diaz ‘100%’ guarantees McGregor trilogy bout

LAS VEGAS — The prospects for a Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz trilogy are very much alive.

Diaz said Friday that he believes there is no doubt he will fight McGregor one more time. The two big stars fought twice in UFC in 2016, with Diaz winning once by submission and McGregor winning the second bout via majority decision.

“I 100% guarantee I’m going to fight Conor McGregor again,” Diaz said at a media event at Resorts World to promote his June 1 boxing match with Jorge Masvidal.

McGregor has brought up the idea of fighting Diaz at the Sphere in Las Vegas during Mexican Independence weekend on a card UFC has planned at the venue. UFC CEO Dana White has since shut that idea down, but Diaz said he would be interested in that bout.

Diaz, 38, also said he believes he will have rematches with Jake Paul and Leon Edwards, whom he lost to in boxing and MMA, respectively. He also wants an MMA rematch against Masvidal, saying the two will inevitably scrap again after Masvidal won their 2019 clash at UFC 244 at Madison Square Garden.

“That’s my hit list,” Diaz said.

Masvidal is still under UFC contract but has retired from MMA and is currently able to box only. Diaz and Masvidal will meet in a boxing match at the Forum in Inglewood, California, in a bout contracted for 175 pounds and 10 rounds.

Masvidal will be making his pro boxing debut. The event will be distributed by Fanmio, and the two fighters are in the middle of a four-city promotional tour, which also includes stops in Los Angeles, Miami and New York.

Diaz shouted out Edwards as the most interesting person in UFC at the moment. When Diaz departed UFC as a free agent in 2022, he noted that he didn’t think anything “cool” was happening in the promotion at that time.

“The coolest thing right now from the UFC is Leon Edwards,” Diaz said. “That’s what I got my sights on. I like that fight right now. I think he’s doing great. I think he got better and he’s doing better. Good attitude, good fighter. I think he’s probably the best thing in the UFC right now.”

Diaz is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Paul, the YouTuber-turned-prizefighter, in August in Diaz’s pro boxing debut.