Nate Diaz took the world by storm when he choked out Conor McGregor back in 2016. Having faced the Irish UFC superstar twice, Nate holds the experience to suggest an opponent for him, even though they haven’t fought in seven years.
In a recent YouTube video, Diaz shared his thoughts, expressing that Michael Chandler wouldn’t pose much of a challenge for McGregor. Instead, Nate believes Justin Gaethje would be a more suitable and intriguing matchup for the former two-division champion.
Nate Diaz recommends Gaethje as McGregor’s potential opponent
As Nate Diaz prepares to take on Jake Paul in a week, he shared his opinion that while Michael Chandler is a nice guy, he doesn’t believe ‘Iron’ will come out victorious against the Irish UFC superstar. Furthermore, Diaz doesn’t see any possibility of a future fight between Chandler and McGregor, considering how their fight has evolved over time.
Mar5.2016
7 years ago today,
Nate Diaz shook up the world, when he choked out Conor McGregor. pic.twitter.com/Lr0yx6XwGl
— MMA History Today (@MMAHistoryToday) March 6, 2023
Despite being absent from the octagon for over two years, Conor made headlines by claiming that he would knock out Justin Gaethje. “The Highlight” in UFC 291 impressed many successfully avenging his previous loss to Poirier. Hence Diaz is looking forward to Gaethje squaring off against The Notorious.
“I think Conor and Gaethje should fight. I think that will probably be nice but Gaethje might just act like he’s too cool or something but it shows how much a nerd he is.” Diaz said.
Promotional alum, Nate Diaz has his doubts that former two-weight champion and past opponent, Conor McGregor will actually fight Michael Chandler in his planned Octagon return – as well as labelling newly-minted BMF titleholder, Justin Gaethje as ahttps://t.co/lwTLIkSE4Q pic.twitter.com/DXtky6d5lT
— Sportsman Bro (@SportsmanBro) August 1, 2023
The question now is whether Justin would be interested in facing McGregor, considering that he has the opportunity to compete for the title, against the winner of Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev’s bout. Gaethje already declined the proposal to fight Mystic Mac, stating that he wouldn’t face someone he believes is using steroids.
Will Conor McGregor fight again in 2023?
Halfway through 2023, the biggest question surrounding McGregor’s career is still whether he will compete in any fights this year. About a month ago, McGregor posted a tweet, now deleted, criticizing USADA and implying that he won’t rejoin the pool.
‘The Notorious’ asserted that he has never lied or tested positive for banned substances and has undergone over 70 clean tests under the USADA program. Recently, McGregor added fuel to the fire by posting a tweet with a voice message where he mocked USADA through a song.
🚨JUST IN🚨
Conor McGregor has a message for USADA.
Dana White revealed earlier this month that he wasn’t back in the testing pool.
He can still return this year if he’s given an exemption to the six-month notice period.
Could be all Twitter talk. We’ll soon find out. #UFC pic.twitter.com/R5LFpOmAT2
— Chisanga Malata (@Chisanga_Malata) July 30, 2023
As of now, there have been no indications of changes to USADA’s policies in response to McGregor’s statements. Nevertheless, his continuous criticisms likely contributed to the strain in his relationship with the anti-doping agency.
