Nate Diaz scoffs at Conor McGregor: “Sit your ass down till 2021”

Nate Diaz has a message for his former opponent Conor McGregor: “sit your ass down” until 2021.

Conor McGregor announced his retirement from the sport earlier this year. UFC president Dana White is convinced that he will return to the Octagon at some point but doesn’t believe it will be any time this year.

“This year, he’s retired,” White said in the latest edition of My Mom’s Basement. “He doesn’t have a fight this year, and he won’t have a fight this year. Conor McGregor will not fight in 2020.

“I’m not saying he won’t fight in 2021, but I’m telling you we don’t have a fight planned for him in 2021. But I guarantee you he will not fight in 2020. Conor McGregor is retired.”

The Irishman retired for the third time in four years in June. White isn’t contractually obligated to offer him any fights and doesn’t know what’s in store for 2021. He also shut down possible rumoured fights for McGregor such as a crossover bout with Manny Pacquiao

“Do we all believe he’ll stay retired?” White asked. “I think most of us don’t believe that he’ll remain retired, but let me put it to you this way: I owe fighters that are under contract with me three fights a year. OK? If I don’t deliver those three fights a year, I have to pay them. Conor McGregor is retired, whether people want to believe it or not.

“He is not fighting right now, so when he’s not fighting, I don’t even think about him or what he’s doing or any of that stuff on a business level. I’ll still shoot him a text personally, but on a business level, he’s out of the mix. He’s not fighting at all. So everybody keeps asking questions about him, and I’m like, ‘Manny Pacquiao? What the f-ck are you talking about?”

McGregor’s former opponent, Diaz, is not impressed with the constant back and forth relating to his retirement. He let his feelings be known on Twitter, but has since deleted his Tweet.

“Sit your ass down till 2021,” Diaz wrote.

Nate Diaz hasn’t fought since 2019 when he fought Jorge Masvidal at UFC 244 for the “BMF” belt. Despite the hype around their eagerly anticipated matchup, their fight came to an anti-climactic end in the third round when the doctor stopped the fight due to the cuts Diaz sustained in the earlier frames.

Diaz’s two previous fights against Conor McGregor are fan favourites, and a trilogy fight between the two could be one of the biggest blockbuster bouts in history. However, it’s not clear if Diaz is interested in pursuing a trilogy fight against McGregor, or whether he just wants to call him out for his retirement games.