Dana White addresses possible trilogy between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz
UFC president Dana White was never sold on Conor McGregor going up two weight classes to face Nate Diaz, but after two record-breaking fights, he can't really argue with the results.
Diaz defeated McGregor by submission back at UFC 196 in a card that ultimately sold 1.5 million pay-per-views, making it one of the most successful shows in company history.
The rematch at UFC 202, which saw McGregor exact his revenge with a majority decision victory over Diaz, reportedly did even bigger numbers for the promotion.
Despite the gaudy amount of money and attention the UFC received for the pair of fights between McGregor and Diaz, White just doesn't seem like he's ever going to be on board for a third bout to settle the trilogy.
"You can't do three," White told Hot 97 in New York recently. "Here's the thing, Conor McGregor is this guy where if a fight falls out, this guy will step up. He doesn't give a (expletive). He's legitimately that guy. I've been on the phone and I've stood in the living room many times and looked guys in the face when their opponent pulls out, nobody faces that adversity the way that Conor McGregor does.
"It's awesome and it makes me respect him very much."
When former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos suffered an injury ahead of his scheduled bout with McGregor in March, the Irishman immediately shifted his attention towards Diaz regardless of the weight class where the fight took place.
White applauds McGregor's willingness to step up to the challenge in that situation, but he also says there are only so many times a fighter should be involved in those kinds of fights. In other words, two fights with Diaz might be enough.
"(Conor) ends up saying 'let's do this Nate Diaz thing' and dude he's two weight classes heavier than you and he doesn't care. So we do the fight," White explained. "Conor has to try to weigh 168 when they're weighing in at 170. The night of the fight, Diaz comes in at 190. Now Conor McGregor is a 45, 55 pound guy and if you look at the wars he's had with Diaz, you can only have so many of those wars in your career. It doesn't make sense.
"That's why we have weight classes. It ended up being an amazing fight, but you don’t want to keep doing that."
White admits that McGregor's willingness to take fights that very few athletes would actually accept makes him an even bigger fan of the featherweight champion and it also explains why he gets more leeway than almost anybody else on the roster.
"That's why I give this guy way more rope than I give anybody else. Conor can say whatever the hell he wants to, the guy steps up on four days notice, he can say whatever he wants," White said.
"We're in the fight game, who really wants to fight? That dude wants to fight."
As far as the trilogy goes, White just doesn't seem to be on board with the idea.
While there may be some unfinished business between McGregor and Diaz with the series tied at one win a piece, White says he's good with that scenario for now.
"I don't know. 1-1's good, they shouldn't have fought in the first place," White said. "We'll see what happens."
