A trilogy between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz has been in the talks for ages now. When the Irishman became a part owner of BKFC and fight fans began talking about the possibility of a fight between him and Diaz at BKFC, the Stockton native jumped in and revealed his desire to fight McGregor in a “real fight”, not bare-knuckle. After all, the duo shares a rivalry that is yet to be settled. However, all that began from a callout for ‘The Notorious’ in 2015. And guess what… McGregor, after 9 years, has finally responded to the callout. 

On December 19, Chamatkar Sandhu took to X and reposted UFC’s video of Joe Rogan interviewing Diaz inside the Octagon, following his phenomenal win over Johnson. That was indeed the callout that forced Dana White and Co. to make Diaz and McGregor fight twice in a single year. The Stockton native said, “F–k yeah. Conor McGregor, you’re taking everything I work for —. I’m gonna fight your f—ng a–-. You know what’s the real fight, what’s the real money fight. It’s me. Not these clowns that you already punked at the press conference. Don’t no one wanna see that. You know you beat them already. That’s the easy fight. We want that real — right here.”

However, that was the time when UFC was broadcast on FOX. This meant the interviews needed to be tuned down on the NSFW meter. The UFC color commentator had to cut Diaz short and leave him with the congratulations. 

The ‘Mystic Mac’ stumbled upon the callout soon after the 9-year-old interview resurfaced on X. In a response to the callout, McGregor wrote, “And straight away the fight was made. 145lb World Champion up to 170lb. Let’s go! #RealFightersOnly” The battle between the two at UFC 196 ended up with Diaz submitting McGregor in the second round. The duo fought once again at UFC 202. But this time, the Dubliner won via a unanimous decision. Now, all we need is a trilogy fight to settle the scores finally. 

Both, McGregor and Diaz have responded to a third fight with nothing but anticipation in their minds. However, Brendan Schaub, the former heavyweight contender in the UFC, declared that the third fight would not happen in the UFC. Let’s see what it was all about. 

Will Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz fight in the UFC?

Not too long ago, Schaub and his co-host Bryan Callen took to the TFATK podcast and talked about a couple of fights that Diaz could get. Of course, McGregor was one of them. But Donald Cerrone was also in the talks. Needless to say, the former heavyweight contender was all up for McGregor vs. Diaz 3. Schaub wasted no time in snubbing Cerrone for the Irishman. He said, “Guaranteed [McGregor-Diaz 3 happens]. It might not happen in the UFC, but I guarantee we see Conor fight again. But if Nate were to come back they ain’t wasting it. And this is no disrespect on ‘Cowboy’ [Cerrone] but they’d give him [Diaz] Conor because that fight only has so long to go, you know.” The fighters were up for a third battle as well, you know?

Prior to his boxing bout against Jorge Masvidal, Diaz weighed in on a battle against the ‘Mystic Mac’. Talking to the media during the press conference for the boxing bout, the Stockton resident weighed in on the possibility of a fight with McGregor. He said, “Yeah, at some point. Everything’s about timing and uh, I don’t plan on going nowhere so I believe…” Even the former UFC double champion was up for a trilogy fight. 

In a conversation with Mirror Fighting back in 2023, the Irishman revealed his stance on fighting Diaz for a third time. He said, “I’d like to see him back in MMA. I owe him a fight. I owe Nate a fight. So I gotta obligate that you know? In (our) rematch I got the better of him and I owe him the trilogy for sure.”

McGregor is set to return to the UFC in 2025. With 2 fights left in his UFC contract, many would believe that the trilogy fight against Diaz would be how McGregor would leave the Octagon. However, Diaz has already found his way out of the MMA promotion. And just like Schaub said, the trilogy would probably happen in a cage outside the UFC. 

What do you think of McGregor’s 9-year late response to Diaz’s callout? Do you believe the duo would clash anytime soon? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.