After a convincing victory at UFC on FOX 17 against Michael Johnson last December, Nate Diaz wanted nothing but a fight against Conor McGregor.
Diaz campaigned for it through a profanity-laced rant during his Octagon interview with Joe Rogan, then spoke about it again in detail in another post-fight one-on-one with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani.
"He thinks he’s the ninja? I’m the ninja. American ninja, real motherf*****g ninja," Diaz said. "This ninja martial artist right here. I started that sh*t. That sh*t came with Stockton with us, me and my team."
"American ninja, Irish ninja, represent your sh*t, homeboy. I’m right here. United States. We can bring that sh*t on. Fight."
He did get what he was clamoring for when lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos suffered a broken foot and pulled out of the fight on Tuesday. Many other fighters such as Urijah Faber and Donald Cerrone also lined themselves up for a crack at "The Notorious", but it was Diaz who got the final call.
And as stipulated by UFC management, the said UFC 196 headliner will be a non-title welterweight bout.