Nate Diaz: UFC, fans making excuses for McGregor
Nate Diaz's profile has never been higher after earning the biggest win of his career at UFC 196, forcing a heavily favored Conor McGregor to submit in the second round with a rear-naked choke.
However, Diaz says he's being disrespected by the UFC and its fans, who he believes continue to dismiss him in favor of McGregor.
"I feel like, honest, I feel like the UFC wants to weed me the f--- out of this position," Diaz told Brett Okamoto of ESPN. "I don't know if I'm supposed to say that. Sorry. I feel like a lot of people are coming at me now. I see them making a lot of excuses for him, and I think it's kind of ridiculous.
"I don't think it's just the UFC. It's everybody. People are saying, 'Oh, (McGregor) is great, he's accepted the loss so well.' If I would have lost, people would be saying, 'piece of s--- shouldn't have accepted the fight.' I don't mean to be bitter, but there are a lot of excuses being made for this guy. He's talking about winning the first round. There are five rounds in a fight. Who gives a s--- if you won a round? You lost."
Even if Diaz fails to attract the type of attention McGregor has become accustomed to - the Irishman is arguably the sport's most recognizable and marketable star - the Stockton, Calif., native has seemingly turned his career around after going just 2-2 in four fights between 2013-15, during which time he requested his release from the promotion.
Even before his victory, Diaz was set to earn a career-high $500,000 purse for the McGregor fight. But UFC president Dana White said that, because of the record numbers pulled in by UFC 196, Diaz walked away with significantly more money.
"I made a good amount of money," Diaz said. "I think they're overexaggerating how much - I don't feel like anybody did me any favors, I'll tell you that much - but I made a good chunk of change and I'm grateful. I've been demanding that.
"I was screwed for a long time. My problem was I was a soldier for a long time. I never even considered money, it was more about not getting my ass whooped. Once I thought about it for two minutes, I realized I was getting f---ed. It was stupid not to pay attention to that the whole time. If I had been thinking business since I was 21, I'd be a rich man right now."
Diaz is already looking ahead to his next bout, with possible fights against welterweight champion Robbie Lawler or Georges St-Pierre being considered. However, Diaz's preference is a title shot against the man he replaced in the fight against McGregor, lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos.
"I'm thinking probably the lightweight title fight, whatever is biggest," Diaz said. "The biggest thing with Lawler and GSP - I would have been all about those fights and I am, but at the same time, my brother (Nick) is coming back and those are his fights. Those are Nick Diaz fights. I'm not trying to step on his shoes. We'll see how things play out. As far as rematches go, I lost close decisions and never got a rematch.
"I'm not asking for anything. I'm demanding more than everybody. I want more than everybody, straight up. Money talks. I want the biggest fight. Whoever I've got to fight - the biggest show, biggest payday - that's what I want."